


Of Cupcakes and Crowns (and Cute Boys Called Chenle)

by cosmicdusts



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 0 angst, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Baker's boy Jisung, Ch1-8 are G Ch9-10 are T, Fairytale-esque, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Prince Chenle, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, brothers taeyong and jisung, ex dotae, idk a angst who's she?, norenmin if you squint - Freeform, this is just disgustingly cute idk what more to tell you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-12-31 15:16:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21147821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicdusts/pseuds/cosmicdusts
Summary: Chenle is the crown prince except no one knows that he is. No one knows, and especially not Jisung, the baker's boy who he regularly meets under the cover of the night to steal longing touches and secretive smiles from.





	1. The angel in the window (and just me down below)

Jisung led a relatively peaceful life. He lived in a small cottage near edge of the lower town with his older brother, Taeyong, and they both ran a relatively small but successful bakery that they were proud of. Well, _ Taeyong _ ran it and Jisung gave him moral support from a comfortable distance from the kitchen. He would spend his day helping Taeyong and maybe icing a bun or two if he was feeling up to it, then he’d hang out with some of his friends, also from the lower town, and they’d try to sneak into Ten’s dance classes.

Jisung has always loved dancing but his brother rarely had the money to send him to classes. He doesn’t blame Taeyong, he was trying his best to keep them fed and clothed and Jisung was more than grateful for that. Besides, Ten was almost as good as a royal dancer from the palace and he often looked the other way if Jisung slipped into his lessons without paying, thanks to his affection for his older brother. In return, Taeyong would send Ten some bread rolls and muffins that they had leftover at the end of the day and thank him for looking after Jisung with that disgustingly sweet smile of his that Ten would return.

So yes, Jisung was happy with his life. It was predictable and modest and mundane. He wasn’t like Renjun who wanted his own ship one day to explore the world, or like Donghyuck who tried to walk a different path home and talk to at least one new person every day because he hated routine. Jisung had a boring life and he liked it.

So when he woke up one morning and walked down the stairs to see his brother having a mental breakdown in the kitchen next to a pile of spilt flour, he was understandably thrown off. Taeyong was normally done baking by now, and he’d usually be flitting around their bakery, smiling at the townsfolk and selling pretzels, and he’d _ never _sit without cleaning up any mess.

Jisung frowned. He stepped forward hesitantly, wondering if Taeyong would mind if he ignored his kitchen ban for a moment. Leaning down to where Taeyong was sat on the floor, he placed a hand on his brother’s shoulders.

“Is everything okay…?” he asked cautiously.

Knowing Taeyong, the issue could be anything from bankruptcy to the traders not having brought henna to the market for his hair dyeing needs. (Jisung has seen him cry about the latter before, though Taeyong would never admit to it.)

His brother simply stuck out his hand, a rolled piece of parchment clasped tightly in between his fingers, small streaks of flour tainting the otherwise smooth cream colour. Jisung warily reached out for the parchment. His eyes widened when he noticed the seal of the royal family resting broken against it. He’d be able to recognise their crest anywhere. Every child born in the lands is taught to know what the image of the two snakes coiling into each other means before they can even speak.

He nervously looked back at Taeyong for some kind of explanation but the red-haired boy sat completely still, a faraway look in his eyes.

With careful fingers, Jisung unrolled the parchment. He could read almost flawlessly because Taeyong had insisted on him learning, saying that nobility started with your manner and not your blood. Although he’d complained at the time about having to stay in and study while everyone else his age went fishing and playing, he was thankful for it now as he made quick work of skimming through the words before him.

He let out a quiet gasp of disbelief. 

“A royal order?!” he exclaimed. Taeyong nodded gravely.

“This is incredible!” he laughed in wonder, re-reading the words printed neatly in cursive. Their bakery was popular within the lower town because Taeyong was kind and he baked with the expertise of someone far beyond his years. However, Jisung had never thought anyone out of their town, let alone anyone from the _ Royal grounds _ would know about them. Taeyong poured his soul into their bakery and Jisung can’t even begin to imagine what this must mean to him.

“It asks for two-hundred cupcakes before sun-down today.” Taeyong paled.

Jisung now understood why he looked so shaken. “It’s okay, we can make them together. I’ll help you.” Taeyong glared at him as if to remind him what had happened the last time Jisung tried to bake. He didn’t need a reminder for that.

“I’ll just go to the market to buy some saffron and vanilla for the icing. I know we’ve run out,” Jisung clarified. Taeyong seemed okay with that, his shoulders visibly relaxing.

And so Jisung slipped on shoes and walked out their door, a small pouch of bronze coins resting in a satchel against his hip. The market was bustling, even more than usual. There were traders yelling prices from every direction and hoping to lure in customers, and crowds milling around every stall, arguing loudly with the owners for cheaper prices. He caught fragments from conversations around him as he moved through the mass looking for saffron.

_ “Did you hear about the royal gathering-?” _

_ “grand affair-“ _

_ “-his highness is going to be there” _

That piqued Jisung’s interest. He knew that the palace was hosting a ball tonight – the parchment they’d received this morning had outlined that and explained that their royal pastry chef had fallen gravely ill and that’s why they had to send a last-minute request to the nearest bakery instead. It was expected that this was the talk of the town; the people, even if they were never invited to such noble affairs, were awfully loyal to the rulers and oftentimes brimmed with excitement on their behalf.

But the _ Prince _being there? Now that was news.

It may seem ludicrous, but it was well known that the Royal family go to great lengths to keep the identity of their heirs a secret until they come of age. It’s a tradition they’ve maintained for generations after the young Crown Prince many years ago had been the target of an assassination attempt to redirect the line of succession. That day, the King and Queen had decided that the fewer people that knew the Princes’ faces, the fewer enemies would know where to strike.

And so no one knew much about the current Crown Prince. There were speculations about his name and appearance but no one knew anything for sure besides the fact that he was just a little older than Jisung himself. Every month, a new rumour would spread through the kingdom like wildfire – a maid had seen him and whispered that he had skin as fair as milk, a soldier had duelled with him and apparently he worked with a sword as naturally as he breathed, another maid had said he had blonde hair that looked like it was weaved from gold itself.

Jisung knew better than to listen to those things. They were just rumours. Just some gossip for the commonfolk to whisper about and keep their life interesting.

But the Prince _ actually _ making a formal appearance even if it was just before a noble audience? He personally didn’t care much for royal matters but even he could understand why this was all anyone was talking about right now.

Sweat clung to him from the sweltering heat of the sun shining directly down and kissing his skin. He pushed through the crowd, scrunching his nose up slightly at the heady scent of his perspiration mixed with the hundreds around him and drifting through the air.

He quickly purchased the ingredients before also picking up a small pot of henna leaves for Taeyong. It wasn’t common practice for the lower town people to dye their hair – it was just an unnecessary expense that most couldn’t afford. However, the sweet old lady selling the henna had once guilt-tripped his brother, who was awful at saying no, into buying some leaves. Ten had then said Taeyong looked good and the rest was history. Since then his brother had made it a point to keep his hair dyed red - a stark contrast to Jisung’s own dark brown.

Jisung slipped back into their small cottage, arms laden with baskets carrying goods. Usually, Taeyong would make a big deal over Jisung going to buy their supplies, cooing at him and telling him how helpful he was. Their parents had passed away before Jisung could remember and Taeyong had always tried to smother him in extra affection to make up for that he would receive from his parents if they were still around. Today, he barely batted an eye and Jisung resisted the urge to pout. His brother was frantically flitting about their kitchen and he looked like he had more than enough on his plate right now.

“Ah, Jisung, you’re back!” Taeyong exclaimed as he scurried toward their oven, “Leave everything on the table, I’ll take care of it.” Taeyong turned to face him, his gloved hands carrying a hot tray of cupcakes. “But I’m going to need you to deliver these later, is that okay?”

Jisung wanted to protest. He’d miss Ten’s dance class if he were to deliver the food. He wanted to ask why their usual delivery connection, Taeil, couldn’t take care of it. Taeyong looked back at him, hope and excitement in his eyes.

“Sure,” Jisung yielded, sighing. He knew how much this meant to Taeyong. It would look better if Jisung went to the palace personally instead of them sending a delivery boy. He could get his face known and let them know that their bakery was always available for more royal orders.

The blinding smile Taeyong gave him in return was enough to let him know he made the right choice.

And so a few hours later when the cupcakes were finally ready, Jisung was slowly cycling through their town, a crate of freshly baked goods tied precariously to the back of the cycle. He tried his utmost best to move across even ground as not to let the crate jerk and fall, the task becoming increasingly easier as he neared the royal grounds and the land became smoother and better cleaned.

Tiled pathways and trimmed hedges took the place of rocky ground and soil. With a shift in the landscape also came a shift in the people. Gone were the crowd clad in simple clothing and cheap trinkets that were so characteristic of the lower town. Gone were _ his _ crowd. Here, Lords and Ladies dripping in jewels and lavish robes hopped out of carriages and leisurely strolled, servant girls hobbling after them and holding parasols out to shield their pale skin from the sun. The poorest person here still looked rich enough to be able to buy out the entire street Jisung lived on.

Their bakery was relatively close to the palace considering how vast their kingdom was. A twenty-minute cycle ride and you’d reach the gates. Despite that, Jisung rarely visited. The last time he’d come had been when he had been five and Taeyong had taken him to see fireworks on New Year’s Eve. He barely remembered that occasion, his youth hazing his memories.

He’d never tried to visit again unlike the large crowd from the lower town that he knew regularly gathered outside the gates at first light to wait for the King and Queen to come and wave them a good morning. He had simply never understood the appeal in that.

However, looking at the palace loom over him now as the gates came into view, he could understand why some crave to see this every day. Soaring ivory coloured towers threaded with gold engravings lay splayed against the landscape of mountains. It was ornate in its architecture and almost overwhelming in its splendour. Vines climbed up the sides of windows, littering roses against the glass and adorning the floor below in a carpet of silky red petals. Jisung couldn’t help but gape.

The burning in his legs from cycling all the way kept him in constant remembrance of why he’d even come here in the first place. Taking a deep breath to calm his sudden nerves, he hopped off his cycle and awkwardly walked it over to the open gates, trying to inconspicuously shuffle in along with the other passing families. A shadow suddenly crowded his vision and he looked up to find two very tall, very intimidating guards standing shoulder to shoulder and effectively blocking his path as they eyed him up and down.

Jisung shrunk, noticing for the first time how his plain brown trousers and white shirt, slightly crumpled and soiled, stuck out like a sore thumb in the landscape. He awkwardly shifted his feet together, his worn-out leather boots only adding to his scruffy image.

He forced himself to work up the courage to look the guards in the eyes.

“I’m here to deliver cupcakes for the ball tonight.”

“The royal pastry chef bakes for the palace,” one guard said, voice laced with unconcealed suspicion.

Jisung gulped. “Of course,” he quickly agreed before pulling out from his satchel the parchment they’d received this morning. Taeyong had specifically reminded him to take it with him and Jisung was thankful for his brother's foresight. “But we got this from the palace this morning-“

The other guard instantly snatched the parchment from Jisung’s grip, snarling at him as he noticed the royal seal against it. “Imitation of the Royal crest could land you in prison for a lifetime, kid.”

Jisung’s eyes widened and before he could protest and explain that it was very much the real deal, the guard seized the front of his shirt and pushed him aside, spitting in his face.

His ears burned. He stared at the ground before him unsure of what he was meant to do now. He felt like crying but he couldn’t just return home without delivering what his brother had worked so hard to make.

Taeyong’s words rang in his mind. _ Nobility starts with manner and not blood. _

It took everything in Jisung but he stood straight, jutting his chin out in defiance and moving to stand in front of the guards again. He wasn’t going to leave defeated like this just because two men with shallow beliefs decided to enforce their prejudices on him.

Jisung’s vision was blurred from tears he was desperately trying to blink back and maybe that’s why he missed a certain blonde boy watching him intently from a window of the closest turret in the palace.

The figure’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as the sun reflected from his irises, bathing the brown in a pool of light until it looked like eyes were of pure amber. Where most men twice Jisung’s age and status would have cowered and left, Jisung was standing his ground. How peculiar. The silhouette of the boy in the window clapped his hands, summoning a man clad in red velvet and satin into the room to whom he whispered something to while pointing outside towards the gates of the palace. The man looked at the boy questioningly and hesitated before nodding and rushing out of the room.

Jisung was taking deep breaths, preparing himself to say something either very brave or very foolish. Just then, a young man robed in red velvet came riding on a stallion up to the gates. He stopped behind the two guards harassing Jisung, jumping off his steed and loudly clearing his throat to catch the attention of the men. The red-robed man muttered something in a low voice to the two of them who both looked surprised and affronted.

“You are relieved of your duties for the rest of the day. That is an order.” The man said to the two guards, glaring at them and Jisung watched in satisfaction as they slowly walked away, confusion marring their features.

The man then turned to Jisung, his eyes considerably softer than they’d been a second ago. “Thank you for responding on such short notice. I’ll take these,” he said stepping forward to easily lift the crate of cupcakes from Jisung’s bicycle and stepping back to fix it atop his horse.

He turned back to Jisung, bowing as he introduced himself, “I’m Xiao De Jun, a royal Knight. I’m sorry about earlier. Consider this an apology,” he thrust into Jisung’s hands a heavy pouch filled to the brim with gold coins. Jisung’s eyes widened and he shook his head. This was more than everything Taeyong and he owned and no matter how you saw it, the cupcakes had not been worth this much.

“I can’t accept this,” he gasped, sticking his hand out to the man.

The man smiled at him. “I insist. I was ordered to pay you this much. I am a man who values my job and so I follow my orders.” He pushed the pouch back towards Jisung and mounted his horse, riding off before Jisung could protest any further.

Jisung stood there alone, processing the sudden turn of events that had just occurred. When he didn’t see what else there was left for him to do, he slowly mounted his bike again, the pouch of coins tucked firmly into his satchel, confusion still etched across his features.

A certain blonde boy with hair as dazzling as gold watched him from the palace windows, the milky skin of his face stretched as a small smile played on his lips. He watched Jisung’s retreating figure until it could no longer be made out against the horizon, before finally drawing the curtains shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will make taeyong and jisung brothers in every fic i write and no one can stop me :)
> 
> This fic is my mf baby. I've had this outline in my drafts for over a year but the outline alone was 4k (F) and so I thought I'd never get round to writing it. But!!! I've finally, f i n a l l y finished writing it!!! I just really craved a long fluffy chenji fic and there are not enough on ao3 so fuck it, i did it myself
> 
> Anyway! comments make my day so!! talk to me!!


	2. A pretty bracelet (from a prettier boy)

The next few days went by in a relatively ordinary fashion until the entire event with the royal parchment became forgotten, the only reminder being the pouch sparkling with gold in the corner of their bedroom.

Jisung didn’t think much of it either. Unlike most, he simply didn’t care much about the royal family. They’d been delegated a task, they’d delivered, and they’d been paid enough to keep Taeyong smiling for the next decade. That was all that mattered.

His eyes widened when he walked by the kitchen to find Taeyong once again staring blankly at a parchment. With tentative steps, he approached his brother, looking over his shoulder and gasping when he saw the wax seal molten into the insignia of the royal family.

“Another one?!”

Taeyong nodded slowly, his eyes never straying from the words on the parchment. Jisung followed his gaze and noticed that the handwriting was different from that of last time. This one was slightly messier though it still was leagues above that of any commoner’s. He let his gaze trace over the words. This time, they’d been asked for just half a dozen cupcakes. Jisung hadn’t heard about any other royal event so he could only assume that this was just for the personal consumption of a noble.

“Wow, they must really have liked the ones you made last time,” Jisung breathed out quietly and Taeyong’s ears turned pink. It didn’t take Jisung looking at him to know that he was burning with pride.

Jisung continued reading, brows knitting together when he read the final sentence.

What?

_‘Don’t come to the palace gates. Take the eastern road from the fork in the forest and walk until you come to a clearing near rose bushes. You’ll have reached the back of the palace gardens. Wait there after sun-down and someone will come to collect the cakes.’_

By the looks of it, Taeyong seemed to be re-reading the last line too, expression mirroring the bewilderment in Jisung’s own.

If Jisung didn’t know better it almost sounded like the instructions were given to help him bypass the guards. But that didn’t make sense because this was written on the behalf of the Royal family who was in charge of the guards. There would be no reason to avoid them. And to ask for him to come after sun-down? That was certainly odd.

“Are we sure this is from the Royal family?” Jisung asked to no one in particular, turning the parchment over to examine the seal. The two snakes pressed in wax stared back at him. It was undeniably the emblem of their monarchs.

Taeyong turned to Jisung, speaking with hesitation. “Maybe I should go this time.”

Jisung knew Taeyong was worried about him - it would come as more of a surprise if he wasn’t. However, Taeyong was juggling enough right now and the least Jisung could do for him was to take care of little things like this.

“It’s fine, I’ll go. I’ve just been to the palace and I know my way around there better than you right now.” Jisung forced a relaxed expression and tried to channel as much conviction as he could into his words.

Taeyong seemed unconvinced but he looked so tired from constantly working himself to the bone and so he simply nodded, grateful for Jisung offering.

This time, Jisung didn’t ride there. It would be too dark to ride back and he didn’t know how kind the forest floor would be to him cycling in the dark. He only had a small basket of food and it was easily portable, barely weighing anything. Besides, summer nights were always warm and laced with cool breezes, a blanket of stars lighting up the world from above. Jisung loved to walk and let his mind wander on nights like these. He let his feet carry him over and past their cobbled streets smiling at the few children playing and greeting the elderly women sitting around gossiping until last light.

Soon enough, he reached the forest. Where yesterday, he had gone straight ahead to the gates, today he hesitantly took the eastern path. The road stopped abruptly, the rest of the pavement seemingly overgrown with plants. A small strip through the shrubbery remained flat as if it had been trampled on regularly until the leaves just stopped trying to grow back upwards and lay low accepting their fate. Jisung carefully followed the trail, occasionally lifting his arms high to protect the basket of cupcakes from a rogue stem of thorns growing into the track. It felt like he’d been walking for hours, the path or lack thereof, never coming to an end. He’d never been the best with orientation and he started to wonder if he’d somehow gotten lost. Just then, a faint light from ahead lit up the path before him.

Picking up his pace, he walked towards the brightness, sighing in relief as it grew from a dim glow to a sharper light. Jisung recognised it as coming from the torches lit around the palace. Just as the parchment had promised, the route had somehow snaked around the walls, past where the guards stood watch and left him here standing now near the back of the palace. There were still high walls looming over him and heavy iron gates standing before him but there was a distinct lack of guards here. Jisung didn’t know much about the palace but even he could tell this wasn’t a route known to many.

He carefully stepped out from the shadow of the forest and into an opening bathed in rose petals till the ground below them was barely visible. It was as if he was walking on a carpet of crimson that gently stirred with the breeze. It looked magical and Jisung couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. Roses hardly ever grew in the lower town and he reached down to pick up a few petals, curious of if they felt as soft as they looked.

A soft voice awkwardly coughed from ahead of him. Jisung snapped his eyes up, jerking up to stand and immediately dropping the rose petals from his palms. He had assumed it was a guard but he noted with curiosity that rather it was a small boy who looked no older than Jisung, leaning against an open door in the wall that he hadn’t noticed before.

The boy had soft golden hair that fell gently over his forehead, blowing slightly in the breeze and exposing strips of milky skin. Under the dim lighting of the fires lit around them, his features looked childish but his aura and stance were the very definitions of poise and grace. The boy shifted nervously under Jisung’s gaze, smiling shyly at him.

“Uh- hello?” the boy spoke in the softest voice.

That immediately snapped Jisung out of his stupor and he forced himself to get it together as he fastened his grip on the basket and walked towards the boy cautiously. Jisung watched curiously as the boy’s gaze dipped down to the cupcakes in Jisung’s hands.

It finally clicked then. “Are you the servant that’s come to receive these?” Jisung asked, pulling out the parchment they’d received earlier.

The boy looked back at him, his expression a mix of slight confusion and something else Jisung couldn’t peg before his eyes lit up as if in realisation. “Yes! I’m the servant,” the boy chuckled quietly into the silence of the night.

He paid the parchment no mind, which was odd, Jisung thought, considering how the guards before hadn’t believed him even after seeing the wax seal. The boy before him was so easily trusting that it almost made Jisung frown.

He lifted the basket to push into the boy's open arms, watching as he slumped slightly under the weight that Jisung hadn’t even noticed. He couldn’t stop the smile that played over his lips, watching how cute the boy looked.

Before his thoughts could wander any farther, a fleeting expression of panic graced the boy’s features which he quickly schooled back to a controlled albeit slightly sheepish expression.

“I just realised I forgot my bag of coins.” The boy spoke in his soft voice again, making Jisung feel like he was floating amidst clouds.

“That’s okay!” The boy looked so fragile and Jisung found himself speaking before his mind had even registered the situation. “It's fine, it’s on the house. We were paid far too much last time so don’t worry about it.” He sincerely meant every word he said. Taeyong would be proud of him for being fair.

However, the small boy before him still looked unconvinced. He hesitated for a second, a small frown marring his features as if he was having an internal battle with himself before quietly slipping off a silver bracelet from his thin white wrist and holding it out towards Jisung.

“For you,” the boy shyly spoke.

Jisung stood there confused and slowly began to shake his head but with each moment that passed the boy looked increasingly embarrassed and distressed and so, in the end, Jisung just reached forward to take it from him anyway. His hands brushed slightly against the boy’s fingers and he watched as the boy awkwardly cleared his throat and avoided his gaze, a pale rose colour dusting his cheeks. It was endearing.

Jisung wanted to say thank you but before he could move to open his mouth there was a sound from within the walls behind the boy and both of them turned to look in its direction.

It sounded like someone calling out a name though Jisung couldn’t quite make out exactly what they were saying. The boy before him whipped around to face Jisung once again, a panic-stricken expression across his face and before Jisung could process anything, he stepped black and slammed the door in his face.

Jisung stood there for several moments hooded in the darkness, staring at the closed door in the tall white walls that were once again shut off to him. He heard murmurs from the other side before they gradually grew more distant, being drowned out by the sound of the wind around him. He slowly collected his thoughts and walked away.

_The palace is full of strange people,_ he decided.

That night, he crept inside their shared bedroom long after Taeyong had gone to sleep, tiptoeing across their floorboards and crashing against his bed. His body was exhausted but his mind wouldn’t stop racing as he ran his fingers along the length of silver bracelet, tracing across the ridges engraved in it, obviously forming some sort of design that he couldn’t make out in the dark. The silver glinted against the subdued moonlight and Jisung watched as it made small circles of reflected light dance across their walls. He smiled, his eyes fluttering shut as he absentmindedly wondered where a servant boy had gotten such a bracelet from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and they meet!


	3. The stars shine so bright (but somehow so dim next to you)

“From the royal family again?” Jisung asked the next morning, trying his best not to let the excitement seep through to his voice. There was no reason to be excited after all. Parchments meant more baking and a long walk to the palace. He’d definitely never admit it but maybe his heart raced a little at the thought of possibly seeing the blonde boy again.

Taeyong nodded and unlike Jisung, he did nothing to mask the joy in his tone as he unrolled the parchment. “Did you bank the coins from yesterday, by the way?”

“Hmm? Oh, that.” Jisung shifted on his feet while discretely pulling his sleeve over the bracelet. ‘The servant was in a rush and forgot the money, I said it was on the house.”

Taeyong nodded understandingly and came over to ruffle Jisung’s hair calling him cute. Jisung ducked and pretended to glare as he walked away.

Why did Jisung lie? He’s not sure. Taeyong wouldn’t have minded about the bracelet, if anything he would be ecstatic that they’d acquired such a priceless antique. But that was maybe why Jisung didn’t want to share it. To Jisung, its value felt more than just its cost. He might be delusional but some part of him even thought of it as a personal gift from the boy at the palace and he didn’t feel like sharing it.

This time, the boy was already waiting by the time Jisung got to the rose clearing, leaning against the door and looking around nervously. Jisung held back a chuckle as he stayed under the shade of the edge of the forest, letting himself watch the boy bite his lips anxiously. Eventually, he decided to put him out of his misery and stepped away from the shelter of the leaves, clearing his throat loudly to let his presence be known. The shorter boy startled at the sudden noise, relaxing slightly when he noticed that it was Jisung. Jisung thought he was adorable.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” the boy began, still chewing on his lip, a slight blush adorning his cheeks.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it. I have doors slammed in my face more often than you’d think,” Jisung chuckled quietly trying to lighten to the mood. He watched the boy ignore him in favour of curiously staring at silver bracelet adorning Jisung’s wrist. He’s not sure why but he immediately pulled his sleeve down. The boy smiled softly.

“I’m glad you wore it,” he said.

Jisung laughed awkwardly, feeling heat crawl up his neck. Before he could say something stupid in reply, he held the cupcakes out to the boy who startled again, seemingly having forgotten about the entire reason Jisung had come.

They both laughed awkwardly into the quiet of the evening and the boy thanked him before taking the basket from Jisung. He smiled cutely, announcing that he’d remembered the coins this time and pushed them into Jisung’s palms before he could protest. As usual, it was far too much.

He watched the boy struggle with the basket again and a sudden thought entered his head.

“I can carry it in for you,” Jisung said. The boy’s eyes widened and Jisung immediately back-tracked, all confidence dissipating from him. “If you want, I mean. You might not want me inside the royal grounds. You don’t know who I am. That’s fine. That’s coo-“

The boy simply smiled at him, his eyes creasing up as he beamed at Jisung. Jisung swallowed nervously.

“Okay,” the boy said.

“Okay?”

The boy nodded and Jisung wanted to scream at how cute he looked. Instead, he quietly took the basket back from the small boy, noting how tiny his hands were in comparison to his own. Together they walked through the wooden door and Jisung gaped.

Thick black walls loomed over them and on closer inspection, Jisung realised the walls were actually dense hedges of dark green. They were entering a maze. He’d heard about the palace having a renowned maze in its gardens as an extra layer of security but he’d never thought he’d see it for himself. His eyes widened in awe as the light from the torches were snuffed out as they walked inside and the blanket of stars above them suddenly came into sharp focus. Usually, Jisung would have stumbled or tripped over - he had a reputation for being clumsy and the dark definitely didn’t help that. The boy seemed to notice how wary Jisung was of each step he took and he wordlessly slipped his hand around Jisung’s wrist, his fingers closing around the silver metal there and guiding him forward. Jisung tried not to think about how soft the boy’s skin against his was.

Unlike Jisung, the boy walked with the ease and confidence of someone who walked through the maze regularly and was no longer intimidated by its tall walls and countless dead ends.

The boy seemed to notice how Jisung kept looking up at the sky as they walked, eyes wide and lips parted in wonder.

“I like the stars too,” he said quietly, the same shy smile gracing his features.

Jisung stuttered, feeling embarrassed for being caught. Renjun and Donghyuck usually made fun of him for being too caught up in his own thoughts and stopping to marvel at little mundane things for hours. He immediately rushed to clarify the situation.

“It’s not that - it’s just that... usually in the lower town, the smoke is too thick to be able to see them this clearly.”

The boy hummed, seeming to consider his words with fascination. Jisung wondered briefly if the boy had ever even ventured out of the castle walls to see what life was like on the outside. He knew the servants usually spent their entire life serving royalty.

After a beat, the boy slowly pointed up and Jisung followed his finger. “You can usually see that one right?” he asked, gesturing to a lone star that shone bright, brighter than all those around it.

Jisung nodded in confirmation.

“That’s Sirius,” The boy spoke. Jisung cocked his head and the boy laughed gently at him. “I’ve spent a lot of time learning and drawing constellations at the palace.”

Jisung watched the boy’s eyes light up as he talked. Back home, no one ever spent time thinking about the sky and learning names of the stars above them. Those were things that couldn’t put food on the table and so no one bothered with it. At times like this, a small part of Jisung wishes he had been born in the palace so he could learn about things like this too.

“…Sirius?” Jisung repeated, unsure of the pronunciation and the boy giggled, rushing to correct him.

Jisung couldn’t help but smile at how radiant the boy looked. He realised then that he didn’t know the servant boy's name. “I’m Jisung Park,” he spoke, the question hanging unasked in the air between them which suddenly turned tense.

The boy beside him shifted uncomfortably, the smile dropping off his face. “I’m… Lele,” he said but his tone remained unsure. Jisung was confused as to why someone would sound so hesitant about their own name but he decided to drop it, not wanting to push anything that made the boy lose his smile. Lele. It was a pretty name.

“So who are the cupcakes for?” Jisung asked out of curiosity.

“Um. It’s for the prince,” Lele said, bringing his free hand up to scratch at his nape awkwardly, somehow looking even more uncomfortable than before.

Jisung guesses he must be so nervous because he’s scared Jisung was going to ask more questions about the prince. He knew that was all a secret and a servant boy could lose his life for talking about him.

“Okay,” Jisung replied in a final tone, trying his best to make it clear he wasn’t going to pry further. Lele visibly relaxed at that and Jisung mentally congratulated himself. 

They passed through the maze relatively quickly, thanks to Lele. They were awkward at first but the smaller boy really seemed to hate silences and so he’d started piping up with a new fact about constellations each time the quiet between them stretched slightly too long.

“If you follow that star down, and then slightly to the right, no a little more to the right, that’s Serpens. It’s a snake. Its head is in the west - that’s not west, Jisung - but all the way over in the east is its body. You can always see it from the palace and that’s where the Royal crest comes from.”

Jisung had never really been much of a talker and he appreciated it. Plus, watching the boy light up as he babbled about the stars was endearing. Jisung wasn’t sure why he felt so warm looking at Lele but he reasoned that everyone would feel that way looking at the tiny servant boy talk so full of enthusiasm.

Eventually, they stepped out of the dense green hedges and came face to face with the walls of the castle. Jisung didn’t even try to hold back his gasp and Lele chuckled at his wonder. Up close, he could make out the gold engravings against ivory walls and tower after tower looming over him, beautiful in their silent grandeur. Jisung had never seen anything like it. Lele took the basket back from him, dropping it gently near a rose bush, saying another servant would come to fetch it inside later.

Lele opened his mouth like he was about to say something but just then there was the sound of clanking metal – armour, Jisung recognised. Lele jumped, instantly pulling his hand away from Jisung and his eyes were blown wide in panic. Jisung looked around them questioningly.

“Guards! Freeze!” came a voice and Jisung’s blood ran cold as he recognised it to belong to the man that had spit on him before.

“Jisung, do you trust me?” Lele asked, urgency in his tone.

Jisung could barely understand what he was being asked. “Wha-“

“Stay silent and stay hidden.” Before Jisung could protest any further, Lele dragged him back towards the maze and into a side path, a clear dead-end, and gently steered him so Jisung was pressed into the shadows near the hedges. He gave him an apologetic smile and brought his finger up to his lips to remind Jisung to stay quiet before he retraced his steps to where they’d come from leaving Jisung alone.

The sound of the metal armour drew closer and Jisung held his breath as he heard the voice of the guard speak up again.

Wasn’t he here on official palace request? Why did he have to hide from the guards? Thought after thought ran through Jisung’s head each tripping over the other and leaving a jumbled pile that didn’t make any sense.

Jisung held his breath, waiting to see if the blonde servant would be reprimanded by the guards so it was an understatement to say he was surprised when he saw the guards halt and bow before him instead.

“We had no idea it was you, young master.”

Jisung stiffened.

_Young master?_

That was no way to address a servant.

Now that Jisung thinks about it, a lot of things about Lele hadn’t added up. The bracelet, how educated he seemed to be, how his robe was made of expensive crushed velvet and how he struggled to carry even the small weight of half a dozen cupcakes that surely any servant would have been used to lifting.

“Enough,” Lele spoke in a commanding tone and Jisung flinched. It was so unlike the shy whispers and soft giggles that he used with Jisung. “You’re all dismissed for the night.”

The guards bowed yet again, muttering countless apologies before walking away, the sound of their metal armour clanking after them.

The blonde boy scrunched his eyes shut, pushing his hair back and sighing. “Did you hear all of that?” he asked into the night and Jisung belatedly realised the question was directed towards him.

He stayed pressed against the hedges, finding comfort in the way the leaves tickled his neck and wrapped him in their shadows where he couldn’t be seen. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to face Lele now after knowing that he was probably of noble blood but that Jisung had assumed he was a servant and made a noble boy carry the cupcakes and walked side by side with him instead of behind him. He could lose everything because of this.

However, he’d never been one to just bow down to blood alone and Lele had shown him kindness before now. He trusted the boy to show him kindness again. He found his voice, cringing at how it sounded slightly feeble.

“The guard called you young master?” Jisung enquired, still unmoving from where he stood hidden.

Lele sighed, a small frown tugging down on the corner of his lips and Jisung felt his own face mirror the expression at seeing it on the smaller boy.

“Yes…” Lele finally replied, sadness and guilt swimming through his eyes. “I’m… a noble friend of the prince.”

“You didn’t want to tell me because you didn’t know me,” Jisung nodded gravely.

He understood how hard this must be for him to admit to and while he was slightly upset Lele had lied to him, no real harm had been done. He’d been the one to assume his identity anyway and it had probably been awkward to correct him.

But that still did nothing to explain why he was sneaking Jisung around the palace like some criminal when he was clearly here on royal request.

“How come you came to meet me instead of a servant?” Jisung asked, finally feeling comfortable enough to walk back towards where Lele was standing. He watched boy hesitate, a sour expression on his face as he absentmindedly fidgeted with his cloak.

“The prince didn’t want anyone finding out and servants gossip so… he sent me.” Lele finally said.

Jisung wanted to ask more about that but he knew better than to ask questions about his highness. It was almost a taboo topic and it would be reckless to press about the matter, especially inside the royal grounds, and so he held his tongue. He nodded instead. It was not in his place to question the prince’s reasoning but this would explain why Lele had met him secretly and tried to avoid the guards.

“I see,” Jisung settled on saying.

They fell into silence and Lele spoke up again, his voice quiet. “You’re not mad?” he looked insecure as his eyes caught Jisung’s.

Jisung wasn’t sure it was even in his place to be mad. He was just a baker’s boy and his opinion shouldn’t matter but the way Lele, a boy of noble blood, looked to him genuinely waiting for his reply made Jisung smile. “No. I’m just glad you’re being honest with me now.”

He didn’t know what he’d said wrong but Lele’s expression soured again. Jisung wracked his head before quickly piping up to tack on a “My Lord,” to the end of his sentence.

Lele scrunched up his face at that and laughed lightly. Jisung let out a breath he didn’t even know he had been holding as the tension between them dissipated. “Just call me Lele.” He grinned and Jisung nodded, ready to agree to anything that would make the boy smile like this.

Lele insisted on walking him back through the maze to the gate and even though Jisung had said he’d be alright on his own, he was secretly glad the boy was accompanying him because he knows he definitely would have gotten lost by now. There’s a playful twinkle in Lele’s eyes that suggest he knows that too.

At first, Jisung had tried to walk behind Lele, taking smaller steps and keeping his head bowed down and hands crossed behind his back, the way they were taught to if ever in the presence of nobility. He wasn’t used to this. Etiquette and formalities were rare in the lower town. No one ever used them because they’d never needed to. Jisung only knew the little he did because Taeyong had made him learn it all from a young age. His brother used to train as a chef’s apprentice in the royal grounds and even though he was no longer in the palace, the palace had never really left him. Jisung was far from perfect and his bow was slightly wonky and his formal speech rough around the edges but he was making up for what he lacked in experience with enthusiasm. No matter how hard he tried though, Lele seemed unsatisfied.

At one point, the boy had stopped walking to let Jisung catch up with him before pointedly slowing his pace so he was trailing a step behind Jisung instead. When Jisung turned to look at him with shock in his eyes, Lele had a small smile playing across his lips as he continued looking straight ahead, hand coming to rest against the small of Jisung’s back to gently guide him through the maze when Jisung slowed down, stubbornly refusing to let the noble boy walk behind him.

This time, Jisung was the one that felt the need to fill the silence, rambling back all he’d learned about the stars from Lele to the boy himself who just smiled proudly whenever he named a constellation correctly. They finally arrived back at the small door leading out of the palace and Jisung felt his heart tug as he stepped outside of it, the looming walls either side of him reminding him of the barrier between his and Lele’s worlds.

He didn’t really want to leave. He liked talking to Lele. The boy was funny and honest and he talked with so much passion about the world around him and all Jisung wanted to do was listen to him talk excitedly about the stars for hours. And Jisung had admittedly let himself fall for him just a little bit when he’d thought he was a servant but of course, he’d turned out to be a noble boy - a noble friend of the Prince’s at that. Jisung sighed.

As if sensing the inner conflict brewing within Jisung, Lele suddenly stepped back and he bowed. He brought one arm sweeping in front of his body as he dipped down in a graceful and practised motion, letting his golden hair fall slightly away from his face. Jisung froze. Lele was of noble blood and he was bowing to him. Jisung was supposed to be the one bowing, not the other way around. It was never the other way around. Hierarchy was ingrained in their culture and what Lele was doing right now was practically unheard of.

His silent gesture spoke volumes.

The blonde-haired boy finally raised his head up again, his eyes sparkling with warmth and a gentle pink blush dusted across his cheeks.

“Thank you for the cupcakes. I’m sure the prince will love them like always.”

Jisung should at least bow back. Lele should have never bowed in the first place but the least Jisung could do to fix this situation was to bow back and hold his gaze low and apologise and then leave. However, no matter what everything he’d been taught screamed at him do, some part of him knew that’s not what Lele wanted of him right now. And maybe that’s not what he wanted either.

Somewhere in the dark at the edge of the palace, a noble boy that had been supposedly been a servant less than an hour ago had extended a strange sort of olive branch to a mere baker’s boy. It shouldn’t have been given and it certainly shouldn’t ever be taken. It would be frowned upon if anyone else saw but the baker’s boy had always gone against the grain anyway.

Jisung thought of the guards that had taken one look at his scruffy shoes and spit in his face. He looked at Lele, a boy whose mere bracelet was worth more than everything Jisung had ever owned. He looked at how the boy was peering hopefully at him and how he was offering to treat Jisung as his equal.

The silence between them was fragile.

“You’re not going to slam the door in my face again are you?” Jisung teased and just like that, an unspoken line between them had been crossed. The smile that Lele answered him with was blinding.

“I don’t know. You’re kind of tempting me to Jisung Park.” The blonde boy snapped back with no real bite in his tone.

“I won’t bring any more cupcakes for his highness if you do that. We wouldn’t want to disappoint him, would we?”

Lele laughed. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll close the door gently this time then but know that I’m doing it for the prince._”_

Jisung pretended to pout at that. “And here I thought you were doing it for me.”

Lele laughed even louder but his cheeks flushed pink and Jisung felt warmth bubble in his stomach at the sight of that. A lot had changed that night but somehow they were still the same. “Maybe I am,” Lele replied in a whisper.

Jisung’s eyes widened at the boy’s words but before he could say anything further, he’d chirped a prompt, “Goodnight Jisung!” and closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based off irl chenle asking irl jisung to drop the honourifics so they can be friends uwu


	4. Red bean buns are sweet (I kind of think you’re sweeter)

It was startling how quickly they’d fallen into a routine. Taeyong no longer worried excessively when he set off for his nearly nightly journey to the palace, and Lele no longer jumped at every small noise as he waited for him. Jisung learned the road through the eastern clearing like the back of his hand, his mind now able to drift absently as his muscle memory took him down the right path.

“Yah Jisung, you’re late.” Lele grinned from where he was leaning against the open door.

And Jisung learned that Lele wasn’t really quiet at all. First impressions were deceiving.

“Maybe you’re just early.” Jisung huffed back lamely.

The weather had gotten even warmer and tonight he was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, no longer insecure about the silver bracelet that lay against his wrist. It was a stark contrast to the rest of his humble clothing but Jisung had noticed how Lele’s eyes always lingered on it and how he smiled slightly wider when he noticed it, and so he’d taken to showing the bracelet off whenever he could. He ran a hand through his hair, brushing back the strands that were pressed against the sheen of sweat on his forehead. He’s sure it made his hair look even messier and it was no way to present himself but he didn’t care and apparently Lele didn’t either from the way his gaze drank up Jisung’s gesture, that pretty blush back on his cheeks. Jisung chuckled. 

Over the past few nights, they’d settled into the same sequence. Jisung would arrive at the rose clearing where Lele would be waiting for him, they’d stroll through the maze slowly trying to stretch out their time together, Lele would drop the cupcakes off outside a door in the palace, and then he’d walk Jisung back out again.

Tonight, as they reached the small wooden door, Lele turned around slowly to face him.

“Jisung you’ve never been inside the palace right?” he asked, knitting his fingers together expectantly while swaying back and forth slightly on his heels.

Jisung shook his head. Of course, he hadn’t.

Lele bit his lip. “Do you want to?” There was uncertainty in his eyes as he waited for Jisung’s response. This was another unspoken line they’d be crossing.

Some part of Jisung was genuinely curious as to whether the palace was really as magnificent as the stories made it out to be, but mostly he just wanted to spend more time with the boy before him. He nodded and Lele immediately relaxed, the colour returning to his voice as he leaned forward to tug on Jisung’s sleeves and guide him through the door.

He gawked as he stepped through to a large and mostly empty room, the floor shining in the soft lighting of the hundreds of torches lit all around them. The ceiling towered metres above, pure ivory and engraved with countless pictures in gold that were too small to make out from where they were standing. The room was acting as some sort of foyer, staircases leading off from various sides, all equally ornate and grand with gold bannisters and hydra-like gargoyles perched at their feet - a clear allusion to the royal emblem of snakes. Lele chuckled at Jisung’s unmasked curiosity and wonder.

“Jisung, I hope you can run fast,” Lele whispered to him, a mischievous smile lighting up his face and before Jisung could wonder why he was suddenly whispering, the noble-boy had reached down to thread his cold fingers through Jisung’s and tugged him forward.

All too suddenly, they were racing through the grand expanse of floor, the world around them whirling into a blur of bright white and gold as they ran to the other side. Lele was giggling, his eyes sparkling in glee as he pulled Jisung down to crouch behind a staircase, their hands still tightly intertwined together.

Jisung heard the tell-tale heavy clanking of armour then and he understood why they’d run.

“Who’s there?” boomed a deep voice from behind them, echoing off the walls till the question seemed to attack them from every side.

Lele grinned from where they were crouching, bringing the hand that wasn’t holding Jisung’s to wrap gently around his mouth in a gesture to stay quiet.

“We’re going to get caught,” he mouthed, “You’re breathing too loud.”

_ Well _, excuse Jisung for breathing then.

He tried to protest but Lele’s grip tightened against his mouth like he’d been expecting it. Jisung glared at the boy who smiled back at him, eyes crinkled in amusement and excitement. Before he could think twice, he parted his lips slightly to dart his tongue out and lick against Lele’s fingers. The boy immediately dropped his hand away, squealing in complaint.

The noise echoed off the walls and they both stared at each other in surprise.

The sound of the armour drew closer to them. “I know somebody’s there,” the voice spoke again, this time paired with the metallic sound of a sword being unsheathed.

Jisung froze at the sound of danger but Lele seemed as calm as ever. He leaned forward, hovering slightly over Jisung as he peered past him to where the guard must have been. Jisung desperately tried to look everywhere but at where Lele’s neck was bared before him, his collarbones on display where his robe had slipped slightly off his shoulder.

Lele drew back again, peering curiously at Jisung’s red face. “He’s facing away from us. We can make a run for that door,” he whispered, nodding his head toward a small wooden door a few feet away from them. It was easily the least lavish one in the room, not decorated heavily in gold or coloured glass, and almost hidden from view. Jisung nodded back. Lele counted to three and they both took off towards it, their still linked hands growing sweaty from the contact, Jisung’s other hand desperately trying to hold the basket of cupcakes as steadily as possible.

Lele quietly opened the door and they both stepped through before he pulled it shut again. Now that the guard was finally out of sight and earshot, the boy let himself slump against the wood, laughing loudly into the quiet. Jisung watched the boy who had a dazed expression on his face, his hair slightly matted to his forehead from a light sheen of sweat that also made his skin _ glow _. He looked carefree and radiant and so, so, beautiful. Lele's eyes turned to lock with Jisung’s, and Jisung smiled back at him, squeezing his hands lightly. Lele pulled his hand away after a beat longer of them just basking in comfortable silence, complaining about how Jisung was too sweaty. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at that.

They walked down a flight of winding stairs before them, seemingly leading below ground. Lele took the basket from him then, putting it away on a shelf. It was much darker here with considerably fewer torches, bathing the area in softer lighting. Looking around, Jisung could immediately tell they were in a large empty kitchen, clearly designed to feed hundreds. He’d spent far too much time in the one at home (before the banning incident) to not be able to instantly recognise the piles of pots and pans stacked against counters and the multiple hearths lined up against one wall. It wasn’t gaudy or extravagant like everything else about the palace seemed to be, but it felt so familiar that it was comforting. The smell of sweet red bean was overwhelming in the best way possible and against his will, his stomach rumbled into the silence. 

Lele laughed at him, eyes teasing as he elbowed Jisung. “Someone’s hungry.”

Jisung puffed his chest out. “I’m not.”

“Tell that to the red bean buns you’re staring holes into.” Lele grinned, as he walked ahead to slide himself up onto a counter, legs swaying from where he was now perched. “You can eat some you know, I won’t tell.”

Jisung considered it for a long moment, stepping forward to near where Lele was sitting next to the tray of food. It smelled warm and sweet and so similar to the ones Taeyong usually made. He found himself smiling at the thought of that.

Upon realising Jisung wasn’t going to take one, Lele rolled his eyes and pinched off a bun from the tray himself. “Eat one. The cooks will be happy, trust me.”

He watched Lele hold out the bread to him, his delicate fingers carefully wrapped around it. Jisung stepped forward, placing himself in-between Lele’s swinging legs, his hands splayed against the counter on either side of the boy. He leaned forward, chin slightly tilting up as he bit into one side of the soft dessert, his eyes locking with Lele’s whose face was mere centimetres away from his own. The noble boy’s ears flared a deep red and he blinked slowly, as he registered how intimate their position was. Jisung held his breath. From this proximity, he could see how Lele’s eyelashes were long, and how they fanned across his cheeks, and how his lips were slightly redder in certain parts, clearly bitten into, and how the roots of his hair were starting to grow in dark brown, a stark contrast to the blonde but somehow it made the boy look even more stunning. This was too close and too much like crossing another invisible boundary between them.

Neither of them moved apart.

Jisung chewed down slowly, his eyes widening in glee when he found it tasted as good as homemade ones. “It’s so good!” he chirped excitedly and the tension between them dissolved.

Lele giggled softly, reaching with his other hand to wipe off red bean paste smeared on the corner of Jisung’s lips. Jisung held his breath, mind blanking at how soft Lele’s touch was and how it felt against his lips. Right then, the bun tasted like sugar and home and longing touches stolen from boys in the middle of the night. They both smiled at each other, basking in the soft comfort of their presence, fondness for each other pouring through their gazes.

Lele pulled his hand back shyly. “Of course it’s good it was made for the prince,” he replied, causing Jisung to tense up and pull back abruptly.

Suddenly it tasted like sand in his mouth.

“His highness? Was it really okay for me to eat one then?”

Lele seemed to realise the mistake in his words as Jisung panicked. He spoke quickly to amend his words. “No, no, no, he won’t mind! He’s... a close friend. I know him.”

Jisung stared back unconvinced, quickly swallowing his mouthful. Lele looked at him desperately. As if to prove that it really was okay, Lele brought the bun to his own mouth, taking a bite and smiling meekly at Jisung. He tried not to think about how the boy had bitten into the same place Jisung had moments ago.

“It’s okay, I’m not really hungry anyway,” Jisung smiled as gently as he could, bringing a hand up to awkwardly scratch at his nape. He appreciated the offer but it still didn’t sit right with him to eat food that was meant for the royal family. He’s not fully versed in the royal laws but there surely was a law against that.

Lele’s smile faded and he sighed bitterly. “Why is everyone so scared of the prince?” he asked, making Jisung flinch. His tone was harsh and sad and confused and Jisung had never heard him talk like this.

“I’m not scared-“

“Yes, you are,” Lele bit back, his eyes turning glossy. Jisung didn’t understand what was happening. “If you weren’t scared you wouldn’t treat the idea of him so differently.”

Well, he supposes that was true.

Silence stretched between them and Lele winced as he realised how harsh he must have just sounded. “It’s fine, forget it.” He slipped off the counter, brushing past Jisung. The air before him turned cold as the boy walked away, putting space between them.

Jisung panicked. Seeing the boy suddenly angry had made him feel confused but that was incomparable to the pain he felt at seeing him look so tired and defeated. He wasn’t sure where this was coming from but he would do anything to fix it. He reached out to grab onto Lele’s wrist, spinning the boy around who looked at him, his eyes wide and still flooded with insecurity and hurt.

Without thinking, Jisung plucked a bun off the tray and shoved the entire thing into his mouth, chewing as enthusiastically as he could. His cheeks bulged, he could barely taste it, and he probably looked an idiot. Lele stared at him incredulously before huffing out a small laugh and suddenly it was worth looking like an idiot.

Jisung really hopes he doesn’t go to prison for theft just because he wanted to make a cute boy smile.

“See,” Jisung’s voice came out muffled over the bread, as he threw out small jazz hands. “I’m not scared-“

Lele’s hands came up to pinch Jisung’s cheeks hard enough to make him hiss.

“You’re so _ stupid _,” he sniffled and Jisung panicked thinking he was crying but Lele just stared back at him with a fond smile adorning his face. His eyes were still shiny but at least he was smiling. If it was up to Jisung, he’d make sure that radiant smile never fell off his face.

If calling Jisung stupid made Lele beam that brightly, then he was stupid. Jisung swallowed before smiling dumbly back at him. “I know.”

“Shut _ up. _Only I can insult you like that.”

“Yes, my lord.”

That earned him another pinch from Lele.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The urge to have them kiss here was so STRONG. but alas. dw they /more/ than make up for this one lost kiss in future chapters 
> 
> The l in lele stands for lovely but it also stands for liar. would you hate me if i told you this was the calm before the storm? (and by storm i mean light drizzle. i respect angst but not in my household)


	5. We’re dancin’ round the room (yeah we’re dancin’ round the truth)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on updating so soon but the response to the last chapter was so positive that I wanted to :)

Taeyong had stopped being surprised whenever a parchment arrived in the morning. He’d already hired a girl to manage their bakery for a few hours every day and the ingredients for cupcakes were sitting neatly atop their kitchen counter, having been bought in advance last night.

“Hey, Taeyong?”

“You’re up early!” his brother hummed pleasantly from where he was working.

Jisung shifted from foot to foot. “Yeah. I was wondering if you could make an extra cupcake today?”

Taeyong shot him a knowing smile. “For the boy that you’re always talking about?’

“Maybe.”

Taeyong laughed, agreeing with little resistance. The endless royal orders and the handsome payments put him in constant good moods lately and he’d started to let Jisung back in the kitchen to help out. Jisung scanned over the parchment noting that today, the order was for half a dozen red bean cupcakes.

“Huh, the prince must really like red bean,” Jisung muttered mostly to himself.

Taeyong picked up on that, turning to face him with his head titled inquisitively. “The prince?”

“Yeah, all these cupcakes are apparently for him. I ate these red bean buns in the royal kitchens a while back and I heard they’re one of his favourites.”

Taeyong stared back at him blankly. “Okay, I’m going to ignore the part where you just told me you snuck into the palace to steal the prince’s food.”

Jisung had the shame to smile sheepishly at that.

“Are you sure these cupcakes are for the prince though?” Taeyong asked, looking slightly troubled.

Jisung nodded. He was pretty sure that’s what Lele had told him.

Taeyong stopped from where he was pouring batter into moulds to mumble quietly to himself. “That can’t be right.”

“Why not?” Jisung shuffled closer to lick off some of the left-over batter with Taeyong quickly slapping his hand away and ordering him to go wash them.

“Do you remember I’ve told you I used to be the chef’s apprentice at the palace when you were just a kid?”

How could Jisung forget? Those years were some of his brother’s fondest and he always talked about them with stars in his eyes.

“Well, we used to bake for the young prince’s birthdays,” Jisung dried his hands on a cloth, waiting patiently for his brother to continue. “Jisung, the prince is allergic to gluten. Only those that have worked in the royal kitchens know this – we always used to use special flour for him.”

Huh.

“I still make some of our recipes gluten-free like my red bean buns. I guess the way I’d learnt to make it in the palace just kind of stuck with me.”

Well, that explained why the ones Lele had given him before had tasted just like Taeyong’s.

“-but the cupcakes I’ve been making aren’t gluten-free.”

He definitely couldn’t eat their cupcakes then. So if it hadn’t been for the prince who had they been for? And… did Lele lie to him?

_Again? _Jisung’s mind unhelpfully supplied.

“Who told you they’re for the prince?” Taeyong asked cautiously.

“The noble-boy that always comes to receive them.”

Taeyong nodded. “What’s his name? Maybe I know him, I used to talk to some of them when they were children.”

“Lele.”

“Just Lele?”

Jisung hesitated. Lele had never given him a last name. He’d never questioned it before but now that he thought about it, it was certainly odd considering noble-people usually referred to themselves with their full names, titles and ranks.

“I’ve never heard of a Lele before…” Taeyong began quietly, immediately trying to take back his words when he noticed the distraught expression on Jisung’s face. “But he might have moved to the palace after I left! Besides, I only worked in the kitchens, I never met all of them anyway.”

Jisung knew that was a lie. Taeyong had told him countless stories of how he and his ex-boyfriend, who had been the other apprentice in the kitchens at the time, had more or less adopted the noble children there when they regularly snuck in to steal food from the kitchens. It was a lie but it came from a well-intentioned place and Jisung appreciated his brother trying to comfort him.

“You’re probably right,” Jisung nodded, trying to sound more reassured than he felt, and earning a sympathetic smile from Taeyong in return.

Lele was practically buzzing with excitement when Jisung met him that night.

“Okay, don’t freak out but I might have a gift for you,” The noble-boy began, lips pursed in a weak attempt to bite back his smile. No _“hello”_ nor _“how are you”._ They were past the point of small talk. Time was a precious commodity they shared and it was pointless to waste it on formalities like that.

Jisung smiled at the boy humming with eagerness before him. “I _was_ excited but from the way you’re bouncing up and down I’m starting to freak out a bit.”

Lele hit his arm lightly at that. “Shut up Park Jisung and let me do something nice for you,” he pouted. He looked adorable and Jisung wanted nothing more than to reach out pinch his cheeks.

Lele walked close to him, shoulders bumping against Jisung’s as he mindlessly linked their hands together. Jisung’s skin burned at the touch. It had become a regular occurrence for Lele to hold his hand but no matter how many times he did it Jisung’s heart still raced the same way. This time Lele took a different turn in the maze – Jisung only realised because he’d walked their regular one so often he’d committed it to memory. This new path led out to a different section of the palace, which Jisung hadn’t seen yet. It was as regal as the rest, following the palace’s general colour theme of white and gold.

Lele turned to him. “Close your eyes.”

Jisung eyed him suspiciously but obliged anyway because it was Lele, and the boy could have asked him to jump off a cliff and he would have probably done it anyway. Jisung let his eyes flutter shut and jumped slightly as he felt cold fingers press against them from behind to make sure he couldn’t see anything. Lele laughed as Jisung startled, his breath ghosting near Jisung’s ear and making him shiver slightly.

Lele pressed against his back, guiding him forward and steering him around the obstacles he couldn’t see. He felt the ground under him change from tiling to slightly damp grass that tickled against his ankles, up some stairs, and finally to something hard that made a satisfyingly crisp echo with each step Jisung took against it. They finally stopped walking and Lele announced they were there.

With his hands still pressed against Jisung’s eyes, he asked, “Do you remember when you told me you love to dance?”

Jisung distinctly remembered that conversation. He’d turned up to the rose clearing after one of Ten’s classes, covered in drying sweat and told Lele all about how much of a great dancer Ten was and how Jisung always went to his classes and how one day he wanted to learn from a Royal dancer at the palace. He remembers that conversation distinctly because Lele had watched him talk about what he loved with such intensity in his eyes and he’d told Jisung he thought he was cool for being so passionate about something. Jisung had then asked if Lele could dance and the boy had laughed saying he’d learned a little here and there but he preferred to sing. And Jisung couldn’t ever forget how the boy had sounded when he sang on Jisung’s request, his voice ringing sweetly through the night, crisp but soft. Jisung had told him he had the most beautiful voice he’d ever heard and Lele had laughed brightly at him, soft pink dusting his cheeks.

Lele pulled his hands away from Jisung’s eyes and Jisung opened them, blinking as he adjusted to the sudden light. They were in a large hall, a ballroom he realised, with a gleaming polished floor and multiple chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. But most fascinating of all, there was a young man, standing facing them from some distance away.

Jisung’s eyes focused on the man and his pristine and expensive-looking uniform – a clear sign of nobility. The man bowed with utmost grace and poise.

“I’m Dong Sicheng, the royal dancer at court. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Surprise!” Lele exclaimed, bouncing in excitement next to Jisung as he gaped.

“You did this for me?” Jisung asked in disbelief. He hadn’t been serious when he’d told Lele he wanted to learn from the Royal dancer. It has always admittedly been a dream of his but he’d never expected it to ever become a reality. “Thank you-“ Jisung threw his arms around the boy next to him, hugging him tightly and making him blush. They stayed there like that, wrapped up in each other’s warmth, touch conveying what they weren’t ready to yet with words.

Sicheng cleared his throat, causing them to pull apart, startling as they remembered there was a third party still in the room.

Jisung immediately bowed back, his posture wobbly and uncertain. “I’m Park Jisung.”

“I know,” The dancer smiled softly. “I’ve heard a lot about you from young master Ch-“

“Lele!” Lele cut in. “Lele. A friend of the prince.”

Jisung watched the dancer throw Lele a specific and loaded stare that he couldn’t quite decipher.

“Young master _Lele,_” The dancer nodded, lips pursed together.

Jisung’s mind spun because this meant Lele talked about him when he wasn’t there and that Jisung wasn’t just someone he smiled at secretly and left the memory of in the cover of the night. That was too much for him to unpack right now.

However, the interaction also made him think back to his conversation with Taeyong that morning.

_“I’ve never heard of a Lele before.”_

Any other day, Jisung would have dismissed the interaction but now he couldn’t help but overanalyse every word. Sicheng had been about to call Lele something else. He was sure of it. An uncomfortable feeling rose up inside him and it felt suspiciously like the betrayal of being lied to. He was probably just overthinking it.

He pushed it to the back of his mind, choosing instead to focus on the warmth that lingered from Lele’s body that had been pressed up against him moments ago and the fact that he was in a royal ballroom about to dance with the most skilful dancer in the entire kingdom.

Lele skipped over to a corner of the room, plopping down on a futon he’d declared as his territory for while Sicheng and Jisung danced.

Sicheng, Jisung learned, lived up to his title and more. He’d never seen someone move with quite the same grace and precision. Ten was mesmerising in how sharp and impactful his motions were, but Sicheng was in one word _elegant_. He moved fluidly and cut through the air in sweeping motions with the control of someone who’d clearly been practising for years.

Jisung felt proud for simply being able to keep up with his moves, and clearly, Sicheng did too if the surprise and newfound respect that shone in his eyes was any indication.

“You’re very good,” Sicheng declared, eyeing Jisung’s figure as if deciding how to push him to his limits to be even better. Jisung preened under the compliment, making a mental note to thank Ten for being such a good teacher. He couldn’t help but glance over to his side to check if Lele was watching and of course he was. The boy was gazing with wide eyes, mouth agape and hands clasped tightly together in his lap. Upon noticing Jisung looking at him, he shot him a thumbs-up and Jisung felt his cheeks grow warm. Sicheng’s validation meant a lot to him and in the past, it would have been the highest level of praise he could have asked for. However these days, he’s been finding himself caring less about what others thought of him and more about what Lele thought instead. He shot a thumbs-up back at the noble boy and was rewarded with that free-spirited laugh of his that never failed to make Jisung shut out the entire world to only focus on him. How could someone be so beautiful?

Sicheng piped up from next to him, snapping Jisung out of his reverie. “Let’s call it a night. I would be happy to continue some other time.” Jisung gasped, bowing again. So Sicheng hadn’t just been kind with his words, he really had enjoyed teaching Jisung. He knew he was a very busy and sought after man and the fact that he’d agreed to make time for Jisung spoke volumes.

“Thank you so much,” Jisung replied, making Sicheng chuckle fondly before walking away and leaving Lele and him alone once again.

The noble boy let out an alarmingly loud squeal as soon as the dancer had left. “Park Jisung! You told me you were good but you didn’t say you were _this_ good!” Jisung tried to contain his smile but to no avail. “You were so cool! You were _flying_ like this,” Lele whirled around the empty space, spinning ridiculously and sweeping his arms about, stumbling as he finally slowed down and dizziness caught up to him.

“Careful,” Jisung rushed forward to grab Lele’s arm and steady him. The noble boy looked up at him, cheeks flushed, from the spinning or from the touch, Jisung couldn’t tell. “I wasn’t _that_ good,” he mumbled shyly.

“Don’t tell Sicheng-hyung I said this,” Lele began, his eyes sparkling with mischief but also sincerity, “but I think you were better than him. You were the best.” Jisung wanted to scream at the pride he felt at hearing that from the boy.

He’s never been great at taking genuine compliments however and so he quickly tried to change the topic.

“Okay Lele, _don’t freak out_,” he said, parroting the boy’s earlier words. “But I might have a gift for you too.”

The boy immediately lit up at that. “Really?” Jisung wanted to coo at that. Of course, he’d be this excited over a gift. In many ways, Lele was like a child.

“Really,” he nodded in confirmation. They both sat on the floor as Jisung brought over the basket he’d packed. Lele pulled off his robe, saying he’d gotten too warm from all the spinning. Jisung gulped, watching the boy pull on the lace holding the cloak together, and letting it fall into a pool around him, leaving him in his attire underneath. An innocent gesture really shouldn’t affect him this much. Jisung flushed, as he took in the sight of the boy before him in a tight-fitting white shirt and dark, tapered trousers, both of which perfectly framed his lean figure. There was a brooch of a snake pinned to one side of his shirt from which gold chains hung. He looked regal.

Lele caught him staring and Jisung immediately looked away blushing harder and clearing his throat.

He fumbled with the latch on the basket, taking out the cupcake he’d set aside for Lele. His heart raced against his ribs and he had no idea why he felt so nervous. It was just some food. It didn’t have to mean anything. But it did maybe mean something and that something made him want to throw up butterflies.

He held it out to Lele with shaking hands.

“What’s this?” the boy asked, raising one eyebrow inquisitively.

“A cupcake.”

He giggled. “I know that. I meant… why?”

Jisung forced himself to look Lele in the eyes, hoping he could convey with his gaze what he was too scared to say. “I know I usually only bring some for the prince but I wanted to bring one for you too.”

Lele stared at him, his eyes scanning over his face searching for _something_. Jisung is not sure if he found whatever it was he was looking for but the boy smiled softly, his cheeks flushing that pink colour Jisung was so used to seeing on him by now.

“That’s really thoughtful. Thank you,” he replied, returning Jisung’s gaze with equal intensity and sincerity.

Jisung watched expectantly but Lele simply put the cupcake down on the floor next to him. “I’ll have it later, I’m still full from dinner.”

Jisung pouted. He had really been looking forward to seeing Lele try it. He knew it was good and even though it had been Taeyong that had made it he took pride in the way the taste usually made people light up.

Lele noticed his badly concealed disappointment and he looked at Jisung guiltily. “I’m sorry, Jisung. I’m sure it’s wonderful I just… can’t. Not right now.”

A bitter taste flooded Jisung’s mouth as a crazy thought entered his head.

_“Jisung, the prince is allergic to gluten.”_

The thought was so crazy and so utterly ridiculous that he immediately shrugged it off.

Lele brought a hand up to scratch awkwardly at his nape, and Jisung’s eyes immediately caught on to the way bracelets, similar to the one he’d given Jisung, slipped slightly lower down his wrist to reveal a trail of black. At first glance, Jisung had just thought it was another, darker bracelet, but as he focused on it he could make out that it was the pattern of two snakes coiling around each other and wrapping around his wrist that was inked into his skin.

Suddenly that completely crazy thought seemed a little less ridiculous.

Lele dropped his arm as he noticed Jisung staring, his other hand flying to readjust the bracelets carefully over the tattoo. Jisung once more eyed the gold brooch of a snake that Lele had pinned against his shirt, now seeing it in a completely different light.

Huh.

He thought back to how the boy had gotten insecure when he thought Jisung was scared of the prince; how he knew the paths through the palace and maze inside out; how he had made the guards bow down to him.

_Huh._

“Lele, are the cupcakes really for the prince?” he asked before he could second-guess himself.

The noble boy's eyes widened in surprise, he clearly hadn’t expected such a forward question on a taboo subject, “Why do you ask?”

“I heard he can’t eat gluten,” Jisung said, his eyes never leaving the cupcake placed untouched on the floor between them.

“Where did you hear that?” Lele’s voice wavered.

“So it’s true?” Jisung asked, glancing up to check the expression on his face. Lele’s face remained carefully neutral. He was always so expressive and so carefree with wearing his heart on his sleeve but right now he looked calculative and collected and poised.

Maybe even as poised as a prince.

“It’s a lie.”

“Bu-“

“It’s a lie,” Lele concluded with finality.

Jisung knew it was the truth. Taeyong had worked in the royal kitchens but Lele didn’t know that.

“You know how people gossip and spread false rumours.” Lele looked at Jisung, a forced laugh spilling from his lips. It sounded empty to both of them.

That night as he slipped through the door to their cottage long after Taeyong had gone to sleep, instead of crashing against the mattress like he usually would have done, he walked over to their kitchen to retrieve a candle. He carefully lit it, keeping it away from the bedroom as for the light to not wake Taeyong up. The fire sprang to life and bathed the room in a soft glow. Jisung took a shaky breath preparing himself for what the next few moments could change for him forever. He pressed a hand around the silver bracelet around his wrist, carefully wriggling it off and bringing it up to near the candle, where the light illuminated the metal. He remembered wondering what the delicate engravings on it were the first night Lele had given it to him, but since then it had completely slipped his mind and he had become so occupied with hiding it from his brother that he’d never really examined it. Now, under the light of the dancing flame, he could clearly make out the intricate pattern of two snakes coiling around each other, the same design he’d seen on Lele’s wrist, and the same one on the royal emblem. It was treason to imitate that pattern and it was a chance no one would take, especially not someone living within the palace walls where hundreds of scrutinising eyes were watching.

Jisung scrunched his eyes shut. So that crazy thought hadn’t been crazy after all.

The boy who laughed a little too loudly and stumbled over his own feet like a child and glowed at the simple promise of food or gifts – the boy who touched Jisung so carefully and with so much longing, who giggled and blushed at every little thing Jisung said or did, who made Jisung’s heart want to burst out of his chest – that boy really was the _prince_.

Lele really was the prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaaa so t h a t happened.
> 
> *jisung noticing the tattoo and the uneaten cupcake* : I’ve connected the dots  
Chenle: you didn’t connect shit  
Jisung: I’ve connected them 
> 
> if anyone's wondering. the royal crest is snakes bc it's chenle's chinese zodiac sign lol
> 
> also we meet sicheng!! being a royal dancer is what he deserves let's all take some time to appreciate him
> 
> comments make me smile so tell me your thoughts ^^


	6. I’ll show you the world (I’ll make it fall at your feet)

Jisung hadn’t been able to sleep at all that night. His mind was reeling and every time he’d been close to falling asleep, he’d remember once again of how he’d called the _prince _‘stupid' far too many times to be comfortable with, how he’d been lied to by the _prince_, and how he was maybe, possibly, definitely a little in love with the _prince. _

Jisung had thought Lele had been out of his league back when he’d thought he was a noble boy but the situation now was so tragic it was almost laughable.

If Taeyong noticed his messy hair from running his fingers through it in frustration one too many times, or his dark circles from not having slept at all, he didn’t mention it.

That morning, no parchment arrived. Nor did it arrive the next morning or the morning after that. It left a bitter taste in Jisung’s mouth.

When a parchment with the wax seal of the royal family finally, _finally _came, it was for all the wrong reasons.

_‘We are delighted to tell you the prince is coming of age soon and to celebrate there will be a grand public event where he will be coronated as the crown prince. We know you are all excited to meet the prince you love so dearly and we sincerely hope you will attend.” _The date written below that was for next week and even further below that were printed some words from the boy himself. “_I am excited to finally be able to see face to face the people who make this kingdom great - Zhong Chenle”_

Zhong Chenle. So that was his name.

Jisung wanted to laugh and cry and pull his hair out. He fell in love with a boy whose name he hadn’t even known.

“Okay, I’m starting to think something is wrong,” Taeyong spoke up after Jisung had sat re-reading the same parchment and laughing mirthlessly at it for several minutes.

“Nope!” he replied. “I’ve never been better.” He threw a very clearly empty smile at Taeyong before brushing past him to grab some coins from the small pouch in the corner of the room. Coins that _Zhong Chenle _had given him. “I’m going to buy some things. What do you want? Henna? Things? Food? I’ll buy them all.”

Taeyong stared at him with concern. “Jisung, you never go to the market unless I force you to. What happened?”

“I’m going to leave now!” Jisung announced as he pulled the wrong shoes onto each foot and stumbled out their cottage.

He’d honestly left to the market because he wanted to get some fresh air to clear his head and avoiding his brother’s questioning was just a bonus. However now that he had arrived here, he realised he could not have made a worse choice. It was flooded with people, all probably there to buy clothes and gifts for the prince’s coronation. From every corner came excited chattering and eager conversations about the _prince_. About _Chenle._

He desperately wanted to drown out reality because all it did was hurt him when he remembered how Lele or Chenle or whoever he was had _lied _to him. It stung even worse when he realised despite it all he still loved him but he was the _crown_ _prince_ for god’s sake, and Jisung was a goddamn baker’s boy who would probably never be able to be with him.

He absentmindedly walked into a vendor who pulled back before smiling a practised merchant’s smile. “Well, well, well aren’t you a dashing young man? You’d look even more stunning in this,” he tempted, holding out a red vest that was clearly too big and shabbily stitched together with cheap material. “You could wear it to the coronation and who knows?” the vendor winked, “you might even catch the eye of the prince-“

God, Jisung was really going to break down on the spot if anyone said that word to him again.

“Jisung?” came a voice and Jisung sighed in relief as he noticed Renjun walking towards them. Bless whatever deity had intervened to save him in the form of his friend. The merchant glared as the smaller boy pulled Jisung away.

“It’s good to see you’re still alive,” Renjun said, leading Jisung to a more secluded area where they could talk without being pushed around by the crowd.

“Don’t remind me.” Jisung sulked.

“Oh alright, Lord Angst. What’s got your pants in such a twist today?”

Jisung groaned. It was futile to lie to Renjun. The boy always got the truth out of him in the end. “Well, for starters I think I'm in love with the prince.”

Renjun laughed drily at him. “I’m being serious Jisung. What’s wrong?”

Jisung sighed. So it wasn’t just him who that idea sounded completely and utterly ridiculous to then.

“Wait, are you being serious?” Renjun asked, voice softening as he watched Jisung look so vulnerable before him.

Jisung ran his fingers through his hair, sighing for the umpteenth time that day. “Can we get some noodles?”

They sat, feet swaying from where they hung off the edge of the harbour, and arms precariously holding boxes of noodles that Renjun had bought for them at the market (and that was really telling of the severity of the crisis because Renjun _never _bought him anything). The harbour has always been their emotional support place and where they’ve gone to at life milestones. They were here when Renjun had caught his first fish, and when Donghyuck had stood up to his first bully and had his first heartbreak, and now they were here because Jisung had fallen in love for the first time.

“So let me get this straight,” Renjun spoke over a mouthful of food. “You met a servant, who turned out to be a noble, who turned out to be the _prince_? And you’re in love with him?”

Jisung stared at the horizon. “Tell me I’m stupid.”

“You’re stupid.”

Jisung blinked. He hadn’t expected his friend to actually oblige. “Well, tha-“

“No, listen.” Renjun snapped, shutting Jisung up. “You’re stupid for overthinking this. You loved him as a servant and as a noble boy and now as a prince. He’s still the same person Jisung, what even is the problem?”

Renjun’s words hung heavy in the air between them and Jisung had nothing to come back with at any of it.

“He lied to me.” _More than once._

Renjun shrugged. “Big deal, people lie, get over it. He only lied about his title and his name and you _know_ that’s not his fault. He probably wasn’t allowed to say who he was but he showed you honestly the kind of person he was and isn’t that more important?”

It was more important.

Jisung pouted, eyes focusing on a distant ship so he wouldn’t cry. “He's the _prince_, Renjun. I was stupid for ever thinking I could maybe be with him.”

Renjun laughed at him, sliding his leg over to bump into Jisung’s. “Full offence but you literally spent the past half hour narrating your surprisingly existent love life, and how Chenle hand-fed you a bun, and danced with you in a ballroom, and gifted you a bracelet – like damn, I think this boy might even be more whipped for you than you are for him. Even if you’re only finding out he’s the prince now, he knew that all along and yet he still did all those things with you. I doubt he’d suddenly now let a flimsy crown get in the way of how you both feel.”

Jisung finally broke his eyes away from the sea, turning his head to face Renjun instead. “You really think so?”

Renjun rolled his eyes. “After all this Jisung, you’d be stupid to not realise he loves you too.”

They walked back to his house after finishing their food and idly chatting for a while more. Taeyong had immediately run over to sweep Renjun into a hug, whining about how he and Donghyuck never visited anymore.

“It’s because Jisung’s too busy for us these days,” Renjun teased, dramatically wiping a fake tear from his eye.

“That’s true, he’s been obsessed with a certain other boy lately,” Taeyong grinned and Renjun threw Jisung a pointed look at that.

Before they’d left the harbour, Renjun had made Jisung promise that he would talk to Chenle again. Not as a servant or a noble boy or the prince, but as just _Chenle_. Jisung had promised to give him a chance if only Chenle would give him one too.

“His name is Chenle,” he spoke up in reply to Taeyong, who bristled.

“Chenle as in… Zhong Chenle?”

Jisung nodded tiredly, walking away to their bedroom and leaving his brother standing there in shock.

Through the shut door, he could just about make out Renjun’s words. “Honestly they grow up so fast. One day they’re wetting the bed and the next they’re romancing the prince.”

At some point, Jisung had fallen asleep, exhaustion catching up to him as his heart finally felt more at ease after his talk with Renjun. He woke up to Taeyong stroking his hair from where he was perched at the end of Jisung’s bed.

“Rise and shine sleepyhead.”

“What time is it?”

“Nine at night.”

“It’s still night?” Jisung groaned. “Go away I wanna sleep.” He turned around in bed, burying further into his blanket.

“Alright. I suppose you won’t want to see the parchment that came in from Chenle then,” Taeyong said, before standing up and walking away.

Jisung’s eyes snapped open, all semblance sleepiness was suddenly gone. His brother always knew how to wake him up. Within five minutes Jisung had gotten dressed and walked back out into their living room where Taeyong was sitting expectantly, waiting for him.

“Oh good, you’re up. I was starting to wonder if I had drag you out.”

Jisung stuck his hand out and Taeyong rolled his eyes before leaning forward to press a rolled parchment into his palm. The seal was broken.

“You read it?” he hissed at Taeyong, who stuck up his hands in defence.

“I didn’t know it was for you! I was talking to Renjun about your boy but after reading that letter I think it’s safe to say he likes you too.”

Jisung opened the parchment with a racing heart. It had none of the usual formalities. It simply asked if Jisung could meet Lele by the rose clearing and that it was urgent and that he missed him. There were no orders for cupcakes – nothing. He wanted Jisung for just him.

“Go get your boy,” Taeyong said and Jisung whined, heat crawling up at his neck in embarrassment.

And so somehow, a whole lot of one-sided heartbreak and maybe not so one-sided pining later, he was back at the rose clearing. This time his hands swung freely by his side as he walked, he was lighter from the lack of baggage but somehow also heavier with the weight of the truth.

But like Renjun said, none of this had to matter. He’ll wait for Chenle to be fully honest with him but until when he was ready, Chenle was still Chenle and Jisung was still Jisung. So tonight he’ll just focus on that.

“Hey loser,” Chenle greeted from where he was waiting and Jisung relaxed at the familiar warmth of his tone and his easy words that came with no real bite.

“Since when did you greet yourself?” Jisung quipped back playfully, dodging the light hit Chenle threw his way at that. At that moment, everything felt so natural and so easy. Maybe that’s how it’ll always be between them.

Chenle sighed, slumping against where he was leaning on the door. Jisung noticed only then that the boy looked dishevelled and the dark circles around his eyes were almost as bad as Jisung’s own.

“I’m sorry I didn’t write to you earlier,” he began, and Jisung tried to ignore the dull ache in his heart as he thought back to the long few days he’d spent without seeing or even hearing from the boy. “Things have just been crazy with preparations for the prince’s coronation-“

Jisung nodded, the news of the coronation had completely thrown him and the entirety of the lower town into a frenzy. He can’t even imagine how it must be for the boy who was going to actually be starring in the event.

“It’s okay,” Jisung replied and he found that he meant the words with utmost sincerity. As long as Chenle was here with him now and he was okay, it was all okay.

Chenle smiled his signature soft smile that he reserved just for Jisung, and as usual, it made Jisung’s heart race. However as quickly as it had come, it fell off his face again, a troubled expression marring his features in its place. “After the coronation… things are going to change.” He looked so sad as he spoke. “And I don’t know how often we’ll see each other again.” Chenle looked up to catch Jisung’s gaze, his eyes flooded with so much hurt and guilt and yearning. “Just… just promise me we won’t change?”

Jisung’s heart ached at watching the boy look so insecure and sad. He hated himself for ever even doubting Chenle.

“I can’t promise you that,” Jisung replied, swallowing the fear and the doubt and the nerves.

“Oh,” Chenle replied, looking utterly broken. “That’s okay, I guess-“

“I can’t promise you that,” Jisung stepped forward, closer to Chenle until all it would take was a small movement from either of them to bring their faces centimetres apart. “Because maybe I want us to change.”

Chenle looked up at him, through his lashes, face reddening as he registered how close they were and the weight of Jisung’s words that seemed to slowly dawn upon him. “Oh,” he breathed out, eyes fluttering for a whole different reason now.

They both knew what Jisung was implying. If their proximity and the intensity of his gaze didn’t give it away, weeks worth of longing and lingering touches and soft smiles on both their parts should definitely have made it clear.

However, insecurity had always been a little bitch that never let people take the good things coming their way.

“You mean like… you want to be closer friends?” Chenle breathed out quietly into the little space between them. Jisung could feel his breath ghost against his lips.

“I mean this,” Jisung whispered back before reaching out with one hand to gently tilt Chenle’s chin up as he bent down to capture the prince’s lips in his own.

He was scared. God, he was scared. His heart was drumming in his ears and his stomach felt twisted and he was light-headed. What if he’d read everything wrong? What if Renjun and Taeyong had been wrong?

It took a mere few seconds of Jisung’s lips pressing softly against Chenle’s, for the boy to press back just as gently, effectively cutting off Jisung’s racing thoughts. Chenle was kissing him _back_. Jisung pulled away, face still centimetres apart from Chenle’s, opening his eyes slowly to check on the prince. He still had his eyes pressed shut, cheeks impossibly red and lips slightly parted from where he was taking shallow breaths as his chest heaved. Chenle opened his eyes then too and they both stood there drinking up the sight of each other, lost in each other’s eyes. Chenle brought his fingers up to thread through the front of Jisung’s shirt to yank him forward, and he kissed him again. Where their first kiss had been tentative and gentle as they tested the waters, this one was heated and desperate as they poured out all the longing, all the yearning they felt into to the simple touch of lips against lips, hoping the other could understand. Jisung brought his arms around the prince’s waist, pulling him impossibly closer and Chenle responded by hooking his arms around Jisung’s neck until their bodies melded into one figure, each of them wrapped up in the warmth of each other with no one but the stars to witness. When they pulled away again, Jisung couldn’t help but smile at the boy before him who was biting into his lip shyly. This was the happiest he’d ever felt and if that happiness was fleeting and uncertain after the coronation – he was going to make the most of it now.

“Hey, Lele?” He’d almost said Chenle but he wanted the boy to come clean with him by himself.

“Mhmm?” Chenle hummed back, his hands now playing with the hair at Jisung’s nape. Jisung leaned into the touch.

“Do you want to sneak out for a bit?” Chenle had shown him his world and Jisung now wanted to show him his.

He stilled, his fingers pausing from where they were tangled through Jisung’s hair. “You mean like... leave the palace?”

Jisung almost started to regret his words when he saw the boy tense up but he forced himself to not run from every single situation that made him scared. He’d taken a leap of faith by kissing Chenle and he’d kissed back and made him the happiest person alive. He just had to take another leap of faith.

“You’ve never left before right?”

“I’ve sometimes gone as far as the forest, but I always turned back from there. I didn’t know where to go.” Jisung remembered noticing how the grass through the eastern path had been trodden down like someone had walked through it regularly.

“I can show you if you want.”

Chenle hesitated for a beat further before looking at Jisung and sincerely saying, “I trust you.”

“So you’ll come?”

Chenle grinned. “Show me the world, Jisung.”

And if Jisung could, he would. He’d show Chenle the entire world and also bring it to rest at his feet, the way a prince deserved. The way his prince deserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one:  
not even that one guard who spit on jisung:  
the king sending out those parchments: haha guys #facereveal #bethere
> 
> but wow so a lot happened?@3?$/  
we met renjun! and chenji uh- they uh- o////o


	7. No one can take their eyes off you (how could they when you’re this radiant?)

Walking through the forest and along the winding road to the lower town was a lot different with Chenle than it was alone. For instance, where Jisung would have walked in silence, letting his mind wander idly, Chenle talked non-stop and laughed about anything and everything. They’d stopped three times already because he’d gotten sidetracked with an owl he noticed in a tree or a new flower he’d never seen before or when he'd stumbled over a branch and gotten scared. The boy was so cheerful and radiant and Jisung couldn’t help but match his wide smile, mirroring his enthusiasm for the world.

When they finally drew closer to the lower town, Chenle stopped to stand and marvel at the site. It was cluttered, house next to house next to market next to school. Where in the royal grounds the night had been met with silence and emptiness save for a few guards patrolling under the lights of torches, here the town had never been more alive. The streets were packed to the brim with commonfolk, laughing under the soft glow of lights with children screaming and running, no rules or etiquette constraining them. The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air, mixed with that of tens of different foods from the stalls of vendors who were yelling over each other, desperately trying to sell more than anyone else.

Chenle audibly gasped and Jisung felt fondness bubble up within him. He wondered if this is how the prince had felt every time Jisung had gawked at the palace. No one else would have been this impressed by the picture of chaos, especially if they were of royal blood, but Chenle took in all in with curiosity and excitement.

It was the prince who now stuck out like a sore thumb in his crushed velvet tunic and neatly polished shoes. Jisung thanked himself for deciding to bring a cloak with him that night and he pulled the bow, letting the brown fabric fall away from his body before carefully wrapping it around Chenle’s instead. The boy looked at him with inquisitive eyes, a blush adorning his face from the way Jisung was standing so close to him and brushing his fingers lightly across his neck as he tied the string of the robe around Chenle. Jisung found it endearing that he still blushed at his every action despite everything they’d already done together that night.

“We can’t have you walking around looking like the prince,” Jisung explained. Honestly, it had been a slip of the tongue but Chenle just laughed uncomfortably, clearly assuming that Jisung had simply only meant he _ looked _regal.

“Thank you,” the boy replied, snuggling into the too-large cloak, which he was drowning in. Jisung didn't miss the way he tilted his head lightly to nuzzle his nose into the fabric, sighing in contentment as he inhaled Jisung's scent. He felt his face grow hot at watching the prince like that and he quickly looked away, awkwardly clearing his throat.

They walked into a narrow cobbled street that led to another and another, each one laden with equally unique shops and mismatched architecture, but all filled with the same excited chattering, before they spilled out into the market like the mouth of a river into the sea. Here was the life of the lower town and Chenle seemed to sense that, with the buzz of people around him adding to his own excitement and making him positively thrum with eagerness.

Jisung laughed at the prince next to him who was staring with wide eyes as he caught sight of a girl who was juggling bottles filled with fire as someone banged a drum for her.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Chenle asked, his eyes not once leaving the girl who’d now switched from tossing three to tossing four bottles.

Jisung nodded easily. This was one of the tamer things he's spotted her doing and yet she’d never gotten hurt. “Yeah. People here just get super excited over royal events and that’s why it’s a little bit crazy right now.”

The mention of that served as a sharp reminder for both of them. “Right, the coronation,” Chenle sighed bitterly and Jisung felt bad for bringing it up and being the reason the smile fell off his face. “Are you?” the prince asked, his voice meek.

“Am I what?”

“Excited for the coronation?”

It was a simple question but underlying it was so much more. With the coronation, everything would change. Chenle would publicly become the crown prince and take up his duties beside the king, and he might be too busy or too important to spend time with Jisung. “Are you?” Jisung deflected.

Chenle chewed down on his lip. “I’m not sure.” He looked so small and anxious and Jisung hated it. Chenle deserved to stand tall and proud always.

“I am excited,” he said with finality. Chenle turned to look at him, searching his eyes desperately for some sort of reassurance.

“Really?”

Jisung hummed. “I think the prince will make a great king one day.” He meant every word and he hoped Chenle could hear the sincerity in his voice. The coronation was not about Jisung; it was about Chenle. It was a huge milestone in the boy’s life and right now he needed Jisung to stand by his side and support him.

“How do you know?” Chenle asked, still sounding insecure.

Jisung smiled at him. “I can just tell.”

Chenle seemed slightly less troubled, Jisung’s words easing his worries momentarily, but he still looked far from the free-spirited boy Jisung had grown to know and love. There was nothing he wouldn’t give to see his brilliant smile again. He tugged at his robe, now wrapped around Chenle, to guide the boy forward through the crowd.

“Let’s look around.”

And look around they did. Chenle stopped at nearly every stall, fascinated by each little figurine and all the wooden jewellery and cheap imitations of leather shoes. He took it all in with stars in his eyes, gasping at every scene with child-like wonder. He was almost as bad as Taeyong at saying no to vendors who vied for his attention, because even with Jisung’s shabby cloak around him, the way he walked with his gait perfectly poised and his hair bleached so neatly and his skin so pale and free from any sign of labour under the sun, made it clear he was of at least noble blood. At one point Jisung had to intervene to stop him from handing over gold coins to a merchant who was eyeing his purse hungrily.

He linked their hands, guiding the pouting prince away from the vendor.

“I was going to buy that.”

Jisung grinned down at him. “No, you weren’t. You were going to get robbed. No one has gold coins down here - everything is worth a few bronze at most.”

Chenle’s eyes widened. “Really?” he asked, genuine surprise in his voice. “But I don’t have any bronze coins…”

Jisung laughed. Of course, he didn’t. He found it endearing how Chenle was frowning, looking genuinely bothered about having too much money as if it was a problem. He reached out to ruffle a hand through the boy’s hair.

“That’s okay, I’ll pay for everything.”

“You will?” Chenle asked softly, tilting his head to lean into Jisung’s palm that was now resting against his cheek. Chenle had more money than Jisung could even dream of, he had an empire to his name, and yet here he was looking like an excited puppy at the prospect of having Jisung pay for him.

“Of course,” Jisung replied and Chenle beamed.

The prince leaned up on his tiptoes and pressed a short, innocent kiss against Jisung’s lips. It was so sudden and so fleeting that by the time Jisung had processed the touch, it was already gone. Chenle’s ears were tinted scarlet as he quickly walked away to another section of the market, dragging a shocked Jisung behind him.

As they walked, the sound of tambourines rattling and flutes playing a frantic tune grew louder and louder until the ground under them hummed with the vibrations from the music and the people moving to the rhythm. It felt like the very earth below them had come to life.

Chenle squeaked as people flew past nearly crashing into the pair, as they danced and laughed, looking giddy on life. “What’s happening?” He asked, grabbing on tighter to the sleeve of Jisung’s shirt.

Jisung had completely forgotten that this was happening today. Ten, being the extrovert with a love for adventure that he was, threw a jig in the streets every few months. It mostly consisted of people dancing as fast as they could in a circle with these ridiculous movements that everyone in the lower town had committed to heart. As they danced to the last one standing each round, the people milling around set off a lantern into the sky for each person that fell or tripped until by the end of the night, the sky would be covered in floating lights. The dancing had been around since as long as anyone could remember but the lanterns had stemmed from a drunken idea on Ten’s part which had somehow become wildly popular. It was a ridiculous tradition. It was rowdy, nonsensical, and chaotic but everyone loved it and with the coronation coming up next week and the people in a mood to celebrate, Jisung remembers Ten telling him about there being one on this night.

He turned to Chenle who was watching the scene with awe in his eyes. Really, there was nothing that could faze the boy. “It’s this stupid tradition Ten throws,” he yelled over the music and the screams of the people around them.

“What?” Chenle yelled back, side-stepping as a small kid came hurtling towards them with a lantern in his hands.

Jisung leaned down till his lips were a breath away from Chenle’s ear. “It’s a tradition Ten throws,” he began to explain, eyes widening when he caught sight of a very familiar figure walking their way. “Speak of the devil.”

Ten came bounding up to them, a spring in his step and mischief in his smile as his gaze lingered on the way Jisung’s hand came to rest protectively against Chenle’s back.

“Jisung!” the dancer exclaimed, before turning to Chenle. “And the boy who Jisung keeps throwing heart eyes at! Welcome!”

Chenle immediately stuttered at that greeting, his face flushing red, while Jisung just glared at Ten. “His name is Lele.”

“Okay, _ Lele _ who Jisung keeps throwing heart eyes at,” Ten corrected, throwing Jisung a teasing look that said, ' _ we’re gonna talk about whatever this is later' _. “I thought my favourite dance student ditched me but now I’m glad you showed up so late. People other than you have actually had the chance to win this thing and my sponsors can no longer complain that I rig it in your favour.”

“Win what?” Chenle asked curiously, speaking up for the first time in front of Ten.

Ten looked at him oddly. “You’re not from around here are you Lele?” he asked, his gaze dissecting the boy. Chenle squirmed uncomfortably under his stare and Jisung felt his protective instincts immediately take over as he answered for the prince.

“He’s from the next town over. He travelled here for the coronation.”

“Alright,” Ten smiled, despite looking completely unconvinced. “Since Jisung here hasn’t had the manners to explain anything to you, I will.” Jisung wanted to roll his eyes at that. Ten proceeded to excitedly drag Chenle around, showing the increasingly fascinated prince what was happening in every corner while a sulking Jisung trailed after them. Why was Ten stealing Chenle's time away from him?

When the prince had finally worn out his curiosity after looking around and asking every question that came to mind, he came to a halt near the edge of the circle of people gathered. There were only two remaining dancing now, smiles painted across their features from the pure euphoria of it all despite it being clear they were both exhausted. One of them was going to have to stop soon.

“Do you want to do the honours?” Ten asked, pushing a lit lantern towards Chenle who stared at it with marvel, before nodding eagerly. Jisung watched the small fire of the lantern reflected in Chenle’s eyes, the flame dancing in his pupils and making his eyes sparkle. He looked absolutely ethereal. 

The dancer closest to them paused spinning, doubling over out of breath and the crowd erupted into cheers as Chenle let go of the final lantern, watching it float up to join all the rest.

Ten made his way into the middle of the nearly empty circle, holding up the hand of the winner who looked drunk on life. After some time, he started sauntering around and attempting to coax potential contenders into joining the next round. A mix of people quickly pooled into the centre; a few children, a few elderly, both men and women, all eager to let loose and just enjoy themselves.

“We need two more!” Ten announced.

Before Jisung could process what was happening, Chenle had stepped into the circle, slipping the robe off his shoulders to give to Ten. The cheers of the crowd were deafening.

Jisung watched the boy with concern in his eyes. He was admittedly worried. More than once had people gotten hurt dancing in this. It was dangerous enough for the people of the lower town who’d grown up practising this for their whole lives so surely it could only be worse for the prince who had heard of the tradition for the first time half an hour ago. Besides, the boy was clearly of a higher social class and he attracted enough attention for it without placing himself in the centre of a watching crowd. He stared into Ten’s eyes, desperately shaking his head and hoping his dance teacher could understand what he was trying to convey.

Ten stepped closer to Jisung until only he could hear his words. “You don’t need to worry about him Jisung. He can look after himself.”

Jisung protested. “Ten, you don’t understand. He can’t get hurt. He’s the-“ he cut himself off suddenly, realising what he’d been about to divulge.

Ten raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t care who he is, Jisung. He’s made his choice.”

Jisung sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Sometimes, it felt like Ten purposely tried to do the opposite of what Jisung wanted, just because he could. “Fine. But I’m not letting him do this alone.”

He stepped into the circle and Ten grinned at him as the crowd once again erupted into cheers, louder than ever before.

“And our final spot for this round goes to our five-month-in-a-row winner!” Ten announced and Jisung felt heat crawl up his neck at the look of admiration Chenle shot his way at that.

The flutes picked up again, playing out a melody that started off slowly. The pace was easy right then but Jisung watched Chenle stumble about across the circle, nearly bumping into multiple people and shrieking and apologising the whole time with an unfaltering smile on his face. He was clearly out of his element but Jisung had never seen someone step into a new situation and dominate it as quickly as he did. By the time only five people were standing and the tambourines clanked out a frenetic rhythm, Chenle had more or less mastered the steps, spinning around effortlessly, skipping about the circle and replicating the complicated footwork with ease. He wasn’t the most graceful of them there, but he was easily the brightest and the one that commanded the most attention. No one could lift their eyes from the boy who whirled around the space with that brilliant smile on his face, squealing and laughing at absolutely nothing.

The pace grew even faster and for anyone else it would have taken their entire concentration to keep up but Jisung was used to doing this year on year and so he let his mind wander instead to how the prince across from him was so stunning as he twirled around, his golden hair flying in the wind and his cheeks pink from dancing. Jisung's eyes remained glued to how ethereal he looked and he barely noticed as three more lanterns went up till it was just Jisung and Chenle dancing in the centre alone.

The crowd around them was wild. They were all rooting for Chenle.

Jisung was too.

Chenle met his eyes from across him as they both spun and dipped and whirled in time with the beat, all under a blanket of stars and lanterns that illuminated the prince's soft features in a softer light. Jisung had never seen him smile so brilliantly and he wanted nothing more than to kiss the prince right then and there. He’d gotten so caught up in taking in everything that was Chenle that he missed a beat and he faltered, a step too slow and a spin too late, till he lost the rhythm completely and had to come to a halt. The screams around him were deafening as the final lantern went up.

“And we have a winner!” Ten cheered as he walked into the middle, picking up a screaming Chenle. As soon as he put the prince down, he ran straight into Jisung’s arms, roughly threading his fingers through his hair and pulling him into a kiss. No matter how many times they kissed it still felt like the first time and Jisung’s stomach was doing wild backflips while his heart went crazy in his chest. It was rushed and messy, their teeth clashed briefly and they both had to pull away far too soon because they were out of breath, but Jisung wouldn’t have changed a thing. Chenle rested his forehead against Jisung’s for a minute longer as both of them just stood there panting and smiling, happy on the mere feeling of being alive and in each other’s arms. He wondered if Chenle would always be able to kiss him as carelessly and freely as he had just then.

The boy was quickly whisked away by the crowd who were all fawning over him and congratulating him. Jisung just smiled from a corner as he watched Chenle easily babble to everyone, even going as far doing that odd sort of wobbly bow that he’d seen Jisung do before. Jisung couldn’t help but crack a smile at that. Save for his clothes, there was nothing that would be able to differentiate the prince from anyone else there at that moment. He blended in effortlessly and Jisung’s heart soared at the sight of him fitting in so easily into his world.

“What was that?” came Ten’s voice from near him as he elbowed Jisung with a secretive smile on his face. “Never in all the years I’ve known you, and I’ve known you since you were in diapers, have I seen you let someone else win.”

Jisung shrugged. “I didn’t let him win. I stumbled.”

Ten threw him a knowing smile. “Sure.”

After Chenle had wriggled away from the mass that was so reluctant to let him go, he came skipping over to Jisung. “That was so much fun!” he squealed, his pupils dilated and his hair messed up in every which way.

Jisung pouted. “You took forever with the crowd.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault the people love me,” Chenle grinned and Jisung couldn’t help but agree. He’d make a wonderful crown prince.

“While you were gone, I bought you something,” Jisung confessed and watched in satisfaction as the prince lit up. He was so easy to please.

“Park Jisung buying me gifts? My heart is fluttering.” Chenle was just teasing, but the forwardness of his words made Jisung's face grow hot again.

He reached into his pocket pulling out a bracelet he’d noticed a young boy selling earlier. It was made of small glass beads strung together on a gold chain, each bead swirling with a different mix of colours that were so bright and vibrant in a way you couldn't take your eyes off it. He thought it fit the prince perfectly. He fumbled with the clasp and shyly brought it up to hook around Chenle’s wrist because even after everything, the boy still made him nervous.

Chenle cocked his head as he examined it, his eyes glossing over in sentiment before he looked back up at Jisung. “They look like little planets.”

Trust Chenle to notice the same cheesy detail Jisung had. “They reminded me of when we first met and you showed me the stars.”

Chenle stared at him for a long moment of silence, his lower lip slightly wobbling before he sucked it in to bite into it. His eyes welled up with un-spilled tears. “I love it.”

He held on to Jisung’s hand, the silver bracelet on Jisung’s wrist and the glass beaded one on Chenle’s clashing together, both so different but stunning in their own way and somehow against all odds, fitting together perfectly.

They walked away from the crowd Ten was still busy entertaining as he announced the next round for the night. Chenle asked him if he still remembered the constellations he’d taught to him and laughed fondly when Jisung fumbled nervously and pointed out each one incorrectly.

“Did I get it right?”

“Yeah.”

They passed back through the stalls and Jisung caught the eyes of a familiar old woman. Having just talked to Ten, he was reminded of his brother and his insufferable crush on the dancer that had lead to his reliance on hair dye. He explained to Chenle that he needed to just quickly pick up something for Taeyong and together they walked towards the woman who smiled at Jisung in recognition.

“Jisung!” She cooed, leaning forward to pinch his cheeks. Chenle watched in amusement. “Are you here for Taeyong’s usual?”

Jisung nodded and the woman quickly started plucking leaves off various stems before her and packaging them into a small pot.

“Anything for your boyfriend here?”

They both flushed at that title and neither bothered to correct her.

“What is it?” Chenle asked shyly and the woman chuckled at him.

“They're dyes, my dear. Your hair is so pale I reckon we could very easily colour it.”

Chenle turned to glance at Jisung, a silent question in his eyes that they both argued over with just their gazes.

“We could probably even do it right now,” she tempted and that’s about all it took to break the little self-restraint that Chenle had.

If all they had was tonight before everything changed, they might as well stretch out the time for as long as they could. They’d made a hundred stupid decisions together and crossed all sorts of lines that shouldn’t have been crossed. What was one more?

Jisung sighed as he relented and Chenle threw him a dazzling smile at that.

Two hours later, as the sun was starting to rise over the horizon again, Jisung was walking Chenle back to the palace. They trailed intentionally slowly to stretch out the time and eventually their footsteps had fallen into pace with one another. The prince now had alarmingly bright mint-coloured hair that glowed oddly in the sunrise and cast a green halo of light above him. He had naturally dominated attention everywhere when he was blonde but now that his hair was a mop of green, no one could break their gaze away from him. Jisung had desperately tried to make him choose a subtler colour but Chenle had insisted that he’d never be allowed to dye his hair green in the palace and so that was a perfect reason to do it then. He didn’t really understand that logic but he shouldn’t refuse his prince. And he couldn’t refuse Chenle even if he wanted to. All it took was one hopeful look and a pout from the boy and Jisung would bend over backwards for him.

Chenle turned to him when they reached the rose clearing. There was guilt swimming in his eyes again. “Promise me that no matter what happens, you won’t hate me?” he asked meekly.

Jisung assumed he was alluding to how everyone would soon find out he’s the prince. He wanted to tell Chenle that he already knew and he could never hate him for this or for anything else.

“I couldn't hate you even if I wanted to,” Jisung settled on saying._ I couldn't stop loving you even if I wanted to. _

Chenle smiled sadly at him. “You’re so good to me…” he brought his hand up to trace the golden light that was pouring across Jisung’s face, fingers brushing slowly over his eyelids, down along the bridge of his nose, and finally along his lips. “Too good.”

Jisung took a deep breath before confessing, “If anything I don’t think I could ever be good enough for you.”

They both stood there, spilling out their insecurities with full honesty as the sun bathed them in light.

“Don’t be stupid, Jisung.” Chenle pinched his cheek lightly. “You’re the best thing I could have asked for.”

Jisung’s heart ached at that. Those words were so raw and so honest and Jisung had never thought he’d ever hear such a confession in his life. He was most people’s ‘good’ and he was okay with that. He never thought he’d be anyone’s ‘best’.

He wanted to reply and tell Chenle just how happy he made him. How the boy was the first thing he thought about in the morning and the last before he fell asleep. How he was the first person he wanted to share good news with and also the first person he thought of when he needed a shoulder to lean on. He wanted to tell Chenle just how he felt but he had no idea how to string together words that could even scratch at the surface of what he felt for him.

A bell rang from inside the palace, marking the beginning of a new day. Chenle sighed.

“I have to go, Jisung.” He leaned up to press one final kiss against Jisung’s mouth. This time when they kissed, it wasn’t shy or innocent or carefree. It was longing and deep and it felt like Chenle was trying to pour everything he felt into this one kiss and memorise everything that Jisung felt for him from this one moment. The kiss felt like a goodbye and Jisung wasn’t sure why.

Before he could protest, the prince had slipped away from him and he was left with nothing but the sun’s rays and the cold morning air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god this chapter was so messy, I edited this like 4 times and i'm still unhappy with it. I had in my drafts this idea of royal chenle having The Most Fun as a commoner and chenji dancing together,,,, and this entire fic and universe was built around this chapter. So even though it was a mess, it remains my favourite mess  
I know I suck at world building but I’m genuinely so fond of this idea of this chaotic, loud, jig with lanterns everywhere. It’s what would happen if that one scene from Titanic had a baby with that one scene from Tangled.  
Also I don't want to kill anyone's imagination but for anyone who's curious the bracelet Jisung gives Chenle is intended to be made of [murano glass beads](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81uixIfLnXL._UL1500_.jpg)  
This is honestly just 4.5k of chenji's date with near 0 plot and i'm not even sorry, they deserve this


	8. Baby you’re my prince (you don’t need a crown for that)

The next week passed with no parchment from Chenle and Jisung hadn’t been expecting one either since the boy had told him the palace was busy with preparations for the coronation. To Taeyong’s dismay, they hadn’t be asked to bake for the event as apparently, they’d found a replacement for their old pastry chef who’d recently passed away. The days felt long and suddenly so empty without the presence of the blonde (now green) haired boy that made fun of Jisung and kissed him gently and laughed too loudly. Jisung missed him.

Ten had promptly come over to their bakery the day after he’d last seen Chenle, sprawling himself across the counter dramatically as he gossiped to an eagerly listening Taeyong about how he’d seen Jisung and Chenle kissing. Donghyuck had also come over since then, pinching Jisung’s ear hard enough for it to bruise and scolding him for having to hear through _ Renjun _ and not from Jisung himself that he was going around flirting with boys.

The coronation was only two days away and Jisung let himself be swept up in the festivities now that he no longer wanted to throw up every time anyone mentioned the prince - he’d come to terms with it. Donghyuck had dragged him to go shopping for new clothes so they could look their best at the grand event and Jisung too, for once, found himself wanting to look good. In the end, they settled on matching tailored navy suits that Taeyong somehow had shipped in for them from the next town. His brother had just shrugged and said they could now afford it and it was no big deal if Jisung could get a boyfriend out of it.

Boyfriend.

Sure Chenle had kissed him a whole bunch of times and they’d exchanged words that were too sweet to not have some truth in them but they’d never explicitly clarified what they were. Jisung knew he was being stupid and focusing on the semantics because it was so clear that Chenle loved him back, but a small part of Jisung was still worried. They’d not been able to have that conversation before because Chenle was keeping his title a secret and that had acted as a barrier between them having an open discussion. After the coronation, when everything would finally be out in the open, Jisung wanted to confess to him properly.

With that in mind, he agrees to let Donghyuck play around with his hair, styling it in every way he could imagine until he arrived at what he deemed to be the perfect hairstyle. Renjun snorted and said he looked like he was trying too hard but Taeyong nearly cried, saying Jisung had never looked more dashing.

That’s how they found themselves a few days later, standing in the middle of a dense crowd in front of the palace gates, clad in suits and styled hair, and having to tiptoe to see anything at all. The ceremony began in the morning, which meant everyone from the lower town had left before first light to just make it there on time and get a spot with a decent view. It had gotten worse when the people from all the towns further away had poured in too until the large lawn outside the palace was jam-packed. The gates hadn’t even opened yet and yet everyone was already there, eagerly waiting for a boy they hadn’t ever even seen before. A few months ago Jisung would have scoffed at witnessing the people’s unwavering loyalty to the rulers they didn’t even know, but after meeting Chenle, he’d started to see things differently. Chenle was kind and smart and thoughtful and he was going to make a brilliant crown prince. He deserved this crowd and more.

After what felt like hours of waiting, the sound of trumpets cut through the air, seizing the buzz of chattering instantly. The gates opened and a row of guards stood before them to stop the crowd from pushing inside. The trumpets continued playing as the king and queen, mounted on a brown and a white stallion respectively, came riding up to the front to greet the crowd that swooned at the sight of them. They had both don gowns of silk that were glistening in the soft light of the sunrise, the multiple pieces of jewellery they had on sparkling.

“Welcome,” The king began and was greeted with a mixed chorus of replies, with the noblemen and ladies seated near the front muttering a formal greeting with a small curtsy or bow, and with the commonfolk near the back screaming and clapping in response.

Over the past few weeks, Jisung has somehow found himself stuck in the middle of both those crowds.

The king and queen gave a speech thanking everyone for coming and stressing how it important it was for them to share this occasion with their kingdom. Most of their words were lost on Jisung whose mind was reeling, unable to focus on anything besides the prospect of seeing his prince again. He strained his eyes over the crowd, peering to see if Chenle was there but the guards blocked the view of anyone besides the king and queen. A painfully long half-hour later, when their speeches were finally finished, the trumpets sounded again and four more horses rode up to the front of the gates.

The crowd slithered around Jisung, moving as one body, and he had to grind his heels into the ground to resist being pushed around. Parents all around were hoisting their children up onto their shoulders so they could see better and in the process, they completely blocked the view in the section Jisung was standing in.

_ “Thank you for coming today. It’s so lovely to see you.” _ A voice came from near the front and Jisung froze. He would be able to recognise that voice anywhere.

He turned to Taeyong with wide eyes and his brother was already staring back at him with an equally stunned expression. Taeyong bent down and aggressively pat Jisung, gesturing for him to climb on his back. Jisung shook his head. That was just embarrassing. Only children were doing that.

_ “I am Zhong Chenle, your prince and your future king.” _

“You are a child!” Taeyong hissed and glared at Jisung until he obliged to climbing onto his brother’s shoulders. Why did Taeyong have to be so competitive about everything?

_ “Our kingdom has always been great and facing all of you here now I can so clearly see why.” _

Jisung held onto his brother as he hoisted himself up until he was sitting on his shoulders. Donghyuck was glaring at everyone near them who threw Jisung dirty looks.

“Get him down! We can’t see the prince,” an old man grumbled.

“Jisung needs to see the prince more than you need to see the prince,” Donghyuck snapped back. Jisung tried his best to ignore the bickering happening below him.

_ “The way everyone has gathered here, travelling days just so we can all stand together as one right now - that’s what makes us so strong.” _

From this new height, Jisung could finally make out the figures on the horses. There were three boys he couldn’t recognise, all around his own age and all clad in grand fitted suits with perfectly crisp shirts and hair pushed back cleanly. In the centre of them, was a boy so beautiful and so regal, it was no surprise everyone was straining just to be able to lay their eyes upon him. He had soft brown hair that was parted neatly in the centre, falling just around his eyes and framing his face prettily. His shirt and trousers were of black with gold detailing and they hugged his figure so perfectly, highlighting his delicate but sharp build. He looked young and handsome, but his stance and tone were so practised and graceful that it demanded the utmost respect from everyone around him. What caught Jisung’s attention the most though was how around his thin wrist, almost hidden from view under the sleeve of his shirt, lay a colourful glass bracelet. It clashed with the rest of the prince’s perfectly co-ordinated outfit but he’d chosen to wear it anyway and that made Jisung’s heart soar.

_ “I know this is the first time you’re seeing my face,” _

Jisung held his breath as Chenle’s eyes swept across the crowd until they landed on him. They stared at each other, momentarily forgetting the world around them, the scene shrinking to nothing but Jisung and Chenle. Jisung threw him a small wave. Chenle’s eyes widened and no one else would have picked up on the minuscule change in his demeanour but Jisung was so in tune with everything that was the boy that he could tell he was panicking.

_ “But,” _ the prince’s voice cracked just slightly, _ “I hope you are not disappointed.” _Jisung knew this was a rehearsed speech. They were words practised and memorised and likely not even written by Chenle, but with the way the prince continued staring at him and looking so guilty and vulnerable, he couldn’t help but feel like Chenle was talking to him.

_ “I hope you can grow to love the me you see now as much as you loved the idea of your prince,” _

Chenle quickly looked away and finished the rest of his speech. As soon as the last word left his lips, the crowd cheered and clapped for him, clearly enamoured with the boy. In the few minutes he had spoken for, Chenle had already managed to charm everyone and it was so clear their hearts were his. 

Jisung was no exception to that.

The crowning ceremony officially began; music flowed from every corner and flower girls danced around throwing rose petals into the air in time with the beat. The king and queen rode forward to where a servant boy was holding out a velvet cushion bearing an ornate golden crown on it. They picked up the crown, thanking the boy, before riding over to Chenle and after a few final words, placing it delicately on his head. The gold of the crown glimmered under the sun, almost casting a halo of light above Chenle and making him look ethereal. The prince looked so soft and regal and magical and _ God _ was Jisung in love.

The cheers were deafening and Chenle was clearly surprised and overwhelmed at the support everyone was pouring out for him. His eyes scanned across the crowd once again, searching until he found Jisung who clapped until the skin on his palms turned red. Jisung hoped he could show him he wasn’t mad. He was proud. Chenle let out a strained smile at him before looking away again.

Time passed so slowly. Jisung wanted nothing more than to run up to Chenle and congratulate him and hug him and maybe even kiss him if the prince allowed him to. But the prince was busy, being whisked off as soon as he had been crowned to greet important figures somewhere within the palace. There was a long line beginning at the gates and winding almost all the way back to the lower town as people waited to be able to personally congratulate the prince and give him their coronation gifts. Thanks to Ten’s and Renjun’s withering glares at everyone around them, they’d somehow ended up near the front of that line. They’d still been waiting for over two hours but in comparison with those behind them, they were blessed.

As they waited, royal servants came up to them, offering them all sorts of exquisite foods that Jisung had never even heard the name of before let alone tasted. He already felt like throwing up from the nerves of having to talk to Chenle soon so he politely refused the food while Donghyuck just took extra on his behalf from every platter that passed them. Boys and girls were singing and dancing around them for entertainment and it was clear the royal family hadn’t spared any expense on this ceremony. Jisung noticed a familiar figure who was juggling bottles of fire and he briefly wondered if Chenle had remembered his conversation with Jisung in the market and hired the girl to perform here out of sentiment.

Soon, it was their small crowd that was right before the gaudy gold doors that Jisung had become so familiar with of late. A servant ushered them in and Jisung sucked in a deep breath as Taeyong squeezed his shoulders in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. They walked across the polished marble-flooring coming face to face with the king and queen who sat on either side of the throne Chenle was occupying. The prince trained his eyes on the floor, desperately trying to look everywhere but at Jisung.

Renjun went first and then Ten and then Donghyuck, each presenting their respective gifts and words of good health to the royal family. As Donghyuck was walking out he whispered to Jisung, “he’s cute, I see the appeal,” and nothing about Donghyuck has ever been subtle so of course, the entire court heard that. Jisung wanted to bury himself as he watched Chenle flare a deep red shade from where he sat on the throne. The king cleared his throat awkwardly and Taeyong hurried Jisung forward before the tension grew any more palpable.

“Your highness,” Jisung greeted and waited until Chenle’s eyes drifted up to watch him. He bowed in the clean, elegant way he’d seen Chenle do so many times and he felt pride well up within him when the prince’s eyes widened at seeing him finally bow correctly. He didn’t miss the way Chenle’s eyes lingered on his combed-back hair and fitted suit either, the prince gulping at seeing Jisung in clothes that weren't his usual worn-out shirt and trousers.

Taeyong stepped forward to present red bean buns that he’d baked on Jisung’s request to be their gift to the prince. When the prince realised what was in the neatly wrapped basket Taeyong had presented, he looked up to meet Jisung’s eyes again.

“Thank you,” Chenle spoke in a neutral tone, carefully nodding. His voice sounded so distant but there was that pink hue bright against his cheeks that Jisung had become so used to and fond of. There was so much more Jisung wanted to say and ask and do with the boy before him but servants rushed to guide them away almost instantly. He watched Chenle look at him with guilt as he left.

The day passed by in a blur of further festivities and each time Jisung tried to approach Chenle, the prince hurried away again. The one time Jisung had almost, _ almost _gotten him alone, Chenle had just looked at him with wide, sad eyes and said, “Jisung I’m sorry.” Jisung had tried to correct him. He tried to tell him that there was nothing to be sorry about and that Jisung already knew that he was the prince and that this didn’t change anything but Chenle had swiftly walked away before he could reply.

He was beyond frustrated.

To make matters worse, they’d stopped receiving parchments from the prince in the following few days. All Jisung wanted to do was reach out to the boy and confess properly and clear things up between them but how could he possibly do that if Chenle wasn’t even giving him a _ chance _to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if this was clear but chenle turns ~18~ and hence has come of age and is coronated :)
> 
> the next chapter is the last one !! (chapter 10 is an epilogue so i guess theres two last chapters)  
I'm so excited for it bc it's seriously quite special and also we'll meet the remaining 2/3 of 96 line!! Their characters have been mentioned before without their names so 10pts to ur hogwarts house if you can guess who they are ;))


	9. You taste like chocolate cake and soft smiles (and I think it’s my favourite)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rating of this fic has gone up from a G to a T because of this chapter hahaha

It took a week of Jisung moping around their cottage for Taeyong to finally snap.

“That’s it, we’re breaking into the palace.”

“We’re _what?” _Jisung looked up from where he’d rolled himself under the rug in their living room so he could cry into the floor.

“You want to see the prince to talk to him, right?”

Jisung nodded miserably.

“Leave it to me.”

When Taeyong had said that, Jisung hadn’t been sure of what to expect. But he certainly hadn’t anticipated waking up the next day to find an unfamiliar man with charcoal coloured hair and a pointed chin rummaging around in their kitchen.

“Um. Who are you?” Jisung asked, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

The man scoffed. “No manners. Just like your brother.”

“_Doyoung_. Be nice to him,” Taeyong scolded the man, glaring with venom.

Jisung gaped. “Doyoung? As in… _the_ _rabbit guy_?” he asked, throwing a look of disbelief Taeyong’s way.

Kim Dongyoung aka Doyoung aka “the rabbit guy” was a very infamous figure in their household. He was the guy Taeyong had done his apprenticeship with and been in love with for three years and also the guy who had broken his brother’s heart so badly that he had to move away from the palace for a fresh start. Taeyong regularly told stories of just how much he loathed him and he’d mentioned once how he hated to be likened to a rabbit, so Jisung had suggested they call him that to dishonour his memory and somehow it had stuck.

Doyoung was positively fuming now. “That _what_ guy?” he asked whipping around to glare at Taeyong. “I can’t believe this is how you talk about me when I’m not around.”

“_Please_. Don’t flatter yourself. As if I would talk about you when you’re not around,” Taeyong spat back without missing a beat. Jisung had never seen his brother so worked up.

He eyed them anxiously and Taeyong seemed to notice, as he calmed down, bringing a hand up to massage his temple.

“Jisung, he’s here to help you see Chenle again.”

“I’m the royal pastry chef,” Doyoung announced, puffing out his chest with pride. Jisung saw his brother roll his eyes from next to him. “Don’t be mistaken, any other day I might have received a parchment from you Taeyong - I would have set it on fire. I only agreed to help because I care about the prince and he’s not been taking his meals or leaving his chamber lately.”

“Thank you for that life story. No one asked,” Taeyong seethed.

“Do you _want_ my help or not?”

“Do you _want _to help the prince or not?”

Jisung’s heart ached at hearing that the prince wasn’t coping with this any better than he was. “You can help me see Chenle?” he quickly cut in before their argument could get out of hand.

Doyoung softened at the mention of the prince. “Maybe. I can get you inside the palace but you’ll have to find the prince on your own.”

Jisung nodded eagerly. He’d take his chances. This plan was better than any other option he had right now.

Doyoung watched him fondly and Jisung spoke up with an after-thought. “You bake for the prince, right?”

Doyoung nodded.

“Could you teach me to make something he likes?”

Taeyong quickly piped up reminding Jisung of what had happened the last time he had tried to bake but Doyoung had promptly shoved Taeyong out of the kitchen, saying that Jisung had a better teacher now and would be just fine.

Doyoung, Jisung learned, was really not that bad as long as his brother wasn’t around. He showed Jisung the different flours he used for the prince and explained how to mix the batter and weigh out everything perfectly and corrected Jisung patiently as he messed up time and time over again. By the end, Jisung had a batch of slightly wonky chocolate gluten-free cupcakes. Taeyong helped him pick the best one from the batch for Jisung to frost and decorate. It was asymmetrical and oddly too large and the icing on one side had been squished against the basket, but they were made with love and hey - isn’t it the thought that counts?

Taeyong had insisted on walking with Doyoung and Jisung to the palace because he didn’t trust Doyoung with Jisung, and Ten had seen them on their way out and also joined because he didn’t trust Doyoung with Taeyong. Doyoung, feeling attacked, had insisted that he didn’t trust _any_ of them with _anyone_, which had led to Taeyong rolling his eyes and them bickering the entire way to the royal grounds.

Jisung had gotten so used to taking the eastern route through the forest known to few, that it felt odd to walk up the main path right to the front gates of the palace. Before they approached it, Doyoung had halted, taking his time to point out a specific tower, which was apparently where the Prince’s quarters were. Taeyong and Ten, who Doyoung had point-blank refused to take into the palace with him, had promptly positioned themselves outside the wall nearest that tower, asking Jisung to signal to them from the window if everything goes okay with Chenle.

With Taeyong and Ten out of the picture, Doyoung brought out a small cap from under his cloak and gave it to Jisung, asking him to put in on. They approached the gates and the guards seemed to recognize Doyoung instantly, barely giving him a second glance. When their eyes came to rest questioningly on Jisung, Doyoung just shrugged easily and said he was a new servant the kitchens had hired. And just like that, they were let through the gates. Doyoung grinned when he noticed Jisung look at him with awe.

Jisung had only ever seen the back of the palace and if he thought that had been overwhelmingly extravagant, it was nothing in comparison to the front. Jisung couldn’t even fathom why singular rooms would need so many chandeliers and mirrors and paintings. Doyoung easily navigated them through the seemingly never-ending corridors till they were at the foyer area that Jisung remembers running through with Chenle.

“This is where I leave you Jisung,” Doyoung said and after a moment of hesitation, he brought his hand up to pinch Jisung’s cheek affectionately. Jisung startled at the sudden touch and Doyoung laughed. They parted ways there and Jisung crept up the flight of stairs Doyoung had told him he thought led to the correct tower.

Doyoung had been very wrong because this flight of stairs had just led to a landing with four other flights of stairs and three doors. Jisung had no idea which direction to take.

_Think, Jisung. Think._

On a whim, he walked in the direction of the staircase that had the most lavish bannister and chandelier hanging at its landing. 

The grander the closer to royalty, right?

Jisung is not really sure if that’s how it works but he hopes it is because that’s all he’s got right now. He crept up the stairs, keeping his head bent low as a maid scurried past him barely sparing him a second glance. She had on a similar cap to the one Doyoung had put on his head and Jisung mentally thanked the chef for his foresight.

A few more landings and ornate doors later, he found himself in a corridor with a spiralling staircase winding all the way down the middle and heavy oil paintings hanging all around. He was definitely in a tower, he just didn’t know if it was the right one. The decoration here was by far the most extravagant he had seen in the entire palace and if that wasn’t a giveaway, the ten or so guards positioned in the corridor adjacent to him definitely was. 

Jisung sighed. He had no idea how he was going to make it past them. He turned around, about to look for another way in, when he collided into something firm. He immediately pulled back realising it had been the chest of a person and pulling back even further he realised it was the chest of the _king_.

The king peered down at him curiously and Jisung felt his body freeze up. He was so screwed. He expected a lot of things at that moment. He expected to be yelled at, to be seized by the guards, and maybe thrown off the tower or maybe sent to prison. What he didn’t expect, however, was the king to simply extend a hand towards him.

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Kun.”

Jisung stared incredulously at the hand hovering before him. He shook it tentatively and said the first thing that came to mind.

“I know.” He panicked as soon as the words left his mouth. “I mean!” he quickly amended, bowing and pulling the worker’s hat off his head. “The pleasure's all mine. I’m Park Jisung, your majesty.”

The king smiled at him with amusement and after a beat of silence, he repeated Jisung’s earlier words. “_I know._”

Jisung wanted to cringe at being made fun of by the goddamn _king_ \- his life had truly hit a new low. At least he now knew where Chenle got it from. The words only really sunk in then.

“Wait-- you do?!” Why on earth would the king know who Jisung was?

“Should we take a walk?” King Kun asked and it wasn’t really a question. The king had already started trailing ahead and Jisung hobbled to catch up with him.

“Jisung, did you really think I wouldn’t notice if my son went missing for a while every night and one day he comes back, having stayed out the entire night, with _green hair_?”

Well, when he put it like that it did sound a bit obvious. 

“I promise, I would never hurt Chenle, your majesty” Jisung stuttered out. He realised then that maybe his earlier predictions of being arrested or killed were still quite likely.

They turned a corner and walked up more stairs. Kun smiled like Jisung’s words were amusing. “I know you wouldn’t.”

Jisung turned to look at the king with wide eyes.

“This isn’t blind faith Jisung. I’m a king; I don’t have room for blind faith. I’ve had you followed over the last few weeks.”

Jisung stumbled. He’d been _followed? _

_“_Don’t take it the wrong way - I just needed to know who my son was going around kissing in the middle of the night. One day when you have children, you’ll understand.”

Jisung felt his face grow hot. At this point, it seemed like _everyone_ knew about him and Chenle. Fear started crawling into his heart. Was this the part where the King would disapprove and remind him he was just a baker’s boy and announce that they’d arrived at the dungeons where he’d leave Jisung to be tortured forever?

They came to a stop in a corridor with a single golden door.

“This is Chenle’s chamber, I assumed you were looking for him.” 

Jisung gaped. Did this mean he had the king’s approval? As if he’d read his mind, King Kun spoke again.

“Yes, you have my blessings Jisung but no funny business in his bedroom. I have a guard positioned right outside this door and he’s ordered to report to me _immediately_ if he hears anything strange.”

Jisung’s eyes widened in horror. As awful as the prospect of having a conversation about going to prison had been, somehow this conversation felt ten times worse. He nodded quickly and apologized countless times, for what he’s not sure, but he apologized anyway and waited until the king walked away.

When the corridor was empty again (save for the lone guard throwing him a suspicious look), he knocked on the door.

“Go away!” came a muffled voice followed by some sniffling.

Jisung heart shattered. Was Chenle crying?

He hesitated before turning the knob and walking in. The room was large with high ceilings and cream wallpaper that had gold patterns swirling around it. On the end furthest from the door, was a canopy bed with translucent curtains that were pulled shut but swayed gently in the breeze that came through the open window. Through the see-through fabric, Jisung could make out a small figure curled up in the bed under a blanket.

“I thought I said go away.” The figure sat upright from where it was previously slumped over and turned around to glare at Jisung. 

Jisung took in the sight of Chenle, his brown hair messy and tangled, his eyes puffy from crying, and the large silk shirt he was drowning in slipping off his shoulders. Chenle’s appearance had objectively seen better days but Jisung thought he was as stunning as ever and suddenly everything he’d come here to say slipped out of his mind as his breath caught in his throat.

Chenle, noticing Jisung for the first time then, panicked. He’d clearly not been expecting him and his mouth slowly fell open as his small hands clenched tightly around the fabric he’d been lying under.

“Jisung…?” he asked tentatively, voice shaky as if in disbelief it was actually him. “How are you here?”

Jisung let out an awkward laugh. “Would you believe me if I said your dad dropped me off?”

Chenle continued staring at him in disbelief and Jisung decided to save that conversation for later.

Walking forward, he slipped his hand through the canopy that parted for him easily, before perching himself down on the edge of the prince’s bed. They both stared at each other with wonder, and love, and confusion, and so many other restrained emotions and questions that they had yet to voice.

Out of all the things he could have led with, Jisung says, “Your hair’s brown.”

“Do you not like it?” Chenle brought a hand up to pull self-consciously through his locks. He seemed to realise then that he still had bed-hair and frantically attempted to smooth his hair down with harsh pats.

Without thinking, Jisung leaned forward to brush his fingers through Chenle’s hair and fix the stray strands till they lay smooth against his head. They were so close now and Chenle looked up at him through his eyelashes, his face pink.

“It looks good.” Jisung pulled his fingers away and cleared his throat, breaking the charged silence between them. “I’m assuming the king and queen didn’t take too fondly to the idea of putting a crown on a green head?”

Chenle laughed and just like that they were back to their usual selves. Jisung’s heart fluttered at the sound of the soft laugh he’d grown so fond of.

“No, they didn’t.”

“Shame. The green would have really gone well the gold.”

“That’s what I said,” Chenle grinned at him, in that usual playful way of his.

After everything, they were somehow still the same.

“The crown looked good with brown too,” Jisung spoke softly. “I think the crown looked good anyway… because it was you.” The words he spoke carried so much weight.

Chenle’s smile faltered and he looked down, fingers gripper harsher around the fabric until his knuckles turned white. “I’m sorry… for lying to you about being the prince. I understand if you hate me now-“

Jisung brought his hand under the prince’s chin, tilting his face up so Chenle would look at him. “Do I look like I hate you?”

Chenle stared at him with big, vulnerable, eyes. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “Do you?”

“I could never hate you.” _I love you. _The words hung unspoken between them and Jisung decided to be brave because the boy deserved that from him. “Chenle, I love you and…” his throat felt tight. Why was it so hard to voice what they both already knew? “and I want you to be mine.”

The prince stared at him in shock that slowly morphed into relief and then finally happiness as a smile tugged onto his face. Jisung waited for something. Anything. 

“That’s the first time you’ve called me Chenle.”

He blinked. He'd daydreamed a lot about confessing to Chenle. He'd run through every possible scenario in his head and played it all out so that he would be prepared for everything. Somehow, Chenle responding like _this_ had never occurred to him. 

“If I knew it would sound _that_ good coming from you I would have never asked you to call me Lele.”

“Uhh-“ Jisung replied dumbly. Were they really going to ignore the fact that Jisung had just confessed?

“Oh also,” Chenle quickly leaned forward to peck Jisung’s lips, sending his heart into a frenzy and his mind haywire. “I love you too,” he said quickly, biting his lower lip to contain the dumb smile that spread across his face. “And…” he played with his fingers in his lap as his face flushed impossibly red. “I’ve always been yours.” 

Jisung struggled to breathe as his brain short-circuited. _He's always been yours. He loves you. He's always been yours._ "I want to court you."

Chenle frowned. "...I thought you already were."

"I was!" Jisung felt his face grow hot. What happened to the speech he'd rehearsed a hundred times for this moment? "I was just checking you knew I was." His words were messy and childish and far from poetic but they were honest. He was a nervous mess because he liked Chenle so, _so_ much. He'd never had much in life and he didn't know how to deal with the weight of suddenly having his whole world handed to him on a golden platter. 

Chenle looked at him with love. "You're so stupid, Park Jisung."

And suddenly everything was okay. They could be the prince and a baker’s boy or a servant and a dancer or anything in between and it would still be okay. They’d still be Jisung and Chenle and they’d find their way to each other in the end. Staring at the prince before him who was giggling like a child with his face flushed pink, Jisung could feel his own mouth split to mirror his expression.

He remembered the small box he’d packed inside his robe. 

“Before I forget,” Jisung brought the parcel out, wrapped in a red silk ribbon that was tied neatly into a bow at the top. “Happy belated birthday.”

Chenle eyed the gift excitedly before taking it from Jisung and pulling delicately at the ribbon till it fell away. He opened the box to see Jisung’s sad excuse for a cupcake. The enthusiasm in his eyes never wavered.

“Did you make this?”

Jisung mistook his marvel for concern. “I might have. But don’t worry, it’s gluten-free and your pastry chef helped me so it’s probably edible.” The end of his sentence tapered off quietly, as Jisung felt the heat of embarrassment crawl up his face.

Chenle looked back at him with shining eyes. “I love it.”

Jisung blushed at that, watching eagerly as Chenle took a bite. The prince’s face lit up in glee. “Does it taste okay?” Jisung shyly asked even though the answer was obvious at this point.

Chenle looked at him with teasing eyes. “It’s awful,” he spoke over a large mouthful. He took another large bite, licking his lips, “No, really, it’s the worst coffee cupcake I’ve ever had.”

Jisung pouted. “It’s chocolate.”

“No, I’m pretty sure this is coffee.” Chenle continued biting into the cake to take large mouthfuls.

Jisung pouted harder. It was chocolate. He had been the one to make it. It was definitely chocolate. “Let me try.” He reached out to pinch off a small piece and check if it really did taste that bad but Chenle immediately slapped his hand away.

“It’s mine! Get your own.” The prince protectively held the cupcake out of Jisung’s reach before smirking. “You can’t steal from the prince you know, that’s treason.”

Zhong Chenle was a filthy liar. From the way he was taking increasingly bigger bites Jisung could tell the cupcake was good. Taeyong had tried one from the rejected batch and approved of it and if it had the Taeyong Seal Of Approval, it was the best it could be. Also, since finding out Chenle was the prince, Jisung had done his research on royal customs and laws and this was many things but it certainly was _not_ treason. 

Before Chenle could open his mouth and spew more bullshit, Jisung leaned forward, capturing the prince’s mouth in his own. He licked against Chenle’s lips to which he squealed in surprise, easily opening for him. Jisung’s licked into Chenle’s mouth and swallowed the moan the prince let out in response. He kissed him harder and Chenle pressed back with just as much want while Jisung’s hands traced along the prince’s neck and along his collarbones that were on display from the shirt that was too big for him. Chenle whined at his touch and Jisung pulled back, smirking in satisfaction as the prince leaned forward to chase his lips.

“It’s definitely chocolate,” he said nonchalantly, tongue darting out to lick his lips, and watching as the realization of what had happened finally registered in Chenle’s eyes.

The prince stared back at him with a half affronted and half impressed look. “Hmm, I’m still not sure,” Chenle drawled and Jisung knew he was up to no good from the playful smile that was back on his lips. “Maybe you should come and taste again?”

“Maybe I will.”

Chenle tasted like chocolate cake and midnight walks and races through the palace. He tasted like soft smiles and white lies and longing glances in crowded market streets. He tasted like comfort and adventure and Jisung never wanted to let go.

The prince’s hands came up to thread through Jisung’s hair, his fingernails scratching lightly in a way that made his toes curl. He tugged absentmindedly, lost in the way Jisung’s mouth was moving fluidly against his, kissing hard enough for his lips to be swollen after. Jisung gently pushed Chenle down till the prince was lying sprawled against the mattress with Jisung hovering over him. Chenle looked up at him, his eyes fluttering shyly but his touch so bold as he tightened his grasp in Jisung’s hair to pull him down again. They lay, wrapped in the blankets and each other, dizzy on how it felt to kiss and love and be loved as fiercely in return.

Jisung kissed gently at the corner of Chenle’s mouth and then his chin and lower to his neck, making the boy below him giggle.

“It tickles,” he breathed out and Jisung had never been fonder.

His giggles turned to moans as Jisung sucked down, lost in the heat of the moment. He bit gently and pink blossomed against Chenle’s otherwise milky skin, and what should have marred his perfect complexion somehow just made him even prettier. If Chenle was a canvas, Jisung was the artist and this was his greatest work yet. Chenle whined, telling him to keep going and who was Jisung to refuse his prince? He pressed a soft kiss against the love-bite before dipping lower still and licking near Chenle’s collarbones and making the boy mewl. It sounded so pretty spilling from his lips and Jisung wondered what other sounds he could coax out of him.

Just then, there was a knock on the door as it creaked opened and Jisung has never moved faster in his life. He pulled back abruptly, matching Chenle’s equally alarmed expression, and in the sudden movement, he lost balance and toppled off the edge of the bed. He groaned as his back met the hard wooden flooring. Through the gap under the bed, he could make out the feet of a maid who walked in, announcing she’d brought clean linen, before quickly scurrying out again at the sight of a dazed Chenle spread against the mattress.

He stared up at the ceiling above him and his vision was suddenly bombarded with a certain prince who hung off the edge of the bed to look at him. Someone else might have panicked and asked him if he was okay or helped him up but this was _Chenle, _and Chenle did what he did best – he laughed. He looked down at Jisung and his eyes creased as he shrieked out that high-pitched laughter of his, making Jisung huff.

“Why did you jump away?” the prince asked through giggles.

“Honestly? I thought it was the king.”

Chenle stared down, a smile still etched across his face as he raised an eyebrow in question. “Why would it be the king?”

Jisung thought back to the passive-aggressive smiles King Kun had given him while telling him Jisung had his blessings and not to do anything weird with Chenle in his room. His gaze dipped down to Chenle's swollen red lips and the spots of pink blooming so prettily against his neck as he lay sprawled against his bed with his silk shirt slipping down far too low. He didn't doubt for a second that the king would condemn Jisung to the stocks if he saw the crown prince in this state. “No reason.”

Chenle threw him a sceptical look. “Okay…" The prince bit down on his lip and Jisung desperately wanted to be the one to bite down on them instead. "Well, get back up here I’m not done with you.” 

Chenle looked at him, his pupils dilated with want, his hair messy from Jisung's hands running through them, and his smile too wide to be up to any good, and _never_ had an invitation sounded more appealing. 

The prince extended a hand for Jisung to grab onto and he pulled him up while constantly complaining about how heavy he was. Jisung rolled his eyes at that. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the window and suddenly remembered his promise.

“Hold on just a second,” he told a whining Chenle, before quickly walking over to the open glass and just as expected, he caught sight of the tiny figures of Taeyong and Ten who stood several feet below waiting on the other side of the wall.

As soon as they noticed Jisung they started throwing out big gestures, waving their arms about to ask him how it went. Jisung couldn’t hold back the wide smile that made its way to his face as he gave them a thumbs-up. As supportive as they’d always been, they started jumping up and down at that and throwing him large heart signs in return.

Chenle walked up to him then, hugging him from behind and resting his head on Jisung’s shoulder. He saw Ten's eyes widen at the sight of the prince’s messy hair which mirrored Jisung’s own, and the growing red bruises that trailed all the way down Chenle’s neck and disappeared into the already very low neckline of his drooping shirt. Ten instantly brought a hand up to cover Taeyong’s eyes and stop him from taking in the scene. 

Jisung wanted to roll his eyes at that. Honestly, it looked worse than it was.

Taeyong fumbled with Ten’s hands, yanking them off just in time to see Chenle press an innocent kiss against Jisung’s shoulder and Jisung immediately drew the curtains shut, not wanting to be teased any more by his brother than he already was.

He’d deal with them later.

For now, he had Chenle and that was enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THATS A WRAP??? ヽ(^◇^*)/ I mean we still have the epilogue to tie up loose ends but that's all banter so the whole ~feelings~ business ends here.  
adding doyoung and kun came to me in a dream (all my plot ideas are born in showers or dreams but anyway) - best idea i've ever had. writing bickering dotae and overprotective dad kun was The Most Fun.
> 
> I wrote this fic as a coping mechanism during a bad time in my life and it means so much to hear it made some of you as happy reading it as me writing it :)) thank you to everyone who read this and screamed support at me !! I appreciate you all a /lot/
> 
> and thank you to gres for [this fanart of chenle](https://twitter.com/notgres/status/1235145468465696768?s=20) ❤️❤️❤️


	10. Epilogue (this is our happily ever after)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: it's the last chapter  
also me: let's introduce 3 new characters

“Jisung stop fumbling you look fine,” Renjun snapped.

“Fine is not good enough,” Jisung whined. “We’re going to meet the king and queen. What if they hate me? What if I look _so bad _that they don’t want me to court Chenle anymore?”

Renjun looked like he was about to hit Jisung over the head but Ten cut in before he could cause any damage. “Jisung, you look great. They’ve already met you and they love you. This is just a formality and it’s going to be fine.”

When Chenle had told him that the king and queen had invited them to dinner Jisung had been excited. Chenle and Jisung were so important to each other and it was only right they met the other people who were important in each other’s lives. Chenle had then gone on to say some of his advisors and friends would also be attending and Jisung had eagerly asked if he could bring his friends along too. He’d been excited then, but as time had passed fear had seeped in and now that he’d finally realised just how important the occasion was, all he felt was dread.

They reached the palace and thanked Taeil for taking them there in his buggy. Chenle had tried to send a royal carriage down to fetch them but Jisung had firmly refused, not wanting to attract any more attention than he already did. 

Ever since the coronation when the people had seen Chenle’s face, hoards had instantly recognized him as _‘that boy who had danced in the lower town’_ and by extension, they recognized Jisung as _‘the boy who the Prince kissed’. _Jisung was so used to blending in and slipping through any room like he was invisible but now suddenly no matter where he went, all eyes were on him.

Ten brought his hand down to slip through Jisung’s, squeezing as a silent show of support. Jisung appreciated it.

Renjun and Donghyuck skipped ahead, marvelling at every little thing and making very loud unfiltered comments that earned them the glares of nobles walking past. Taeyong had already gone ahead to the palace in the morning to help out with food preparations. To Doyoung’s horror, his brother had been offered work as a joint-head pastry chef in the palace along with his ex-boyfriend. Taeyong had kindly refused, saying he was happy with the bakery he ran in the lower town and Doyoung had grumbled and whined a whole lot before agreeing to enlist Taeyong’s help for special events like this one.

The guards looked pained as they let a loudly swearing Renjun and Donghyuck waltz right past them, through the gates and up the main path to the palace. Over the past month, Jisung’s presence at the royal grounds has been more common than not and nearly all the workers had memorised his face and learned to not question or stop him. Apparently, Chenle had also had some curt words with the guard who had spit on Jisung all those weeks ago and he’d been personally assigned to escort Jisung around and tend to his every need each time he visited. It had just led to a lot of situations with Jisung and the guard walking awkwardly side by side in silence to Sicheng’s private dance lessons while a very satisfied Chenle watched.

That’s another change that had happened. Sicheng had been true to his word and made it his mission to personally train Jisung most days of the week. At this point, Jisung spent more time learning from Sicheng than Ten but Ten hadn’t even had the time to pick a fight with him about it because ever since word had spread that _the prince _had danced in Ten’s street jig, he’d become a very wanted man. Suddenly, the small tradition of their lower town had become the most popular event across the entire kingdom and Ten was being called left and right to host similar dances across the lands in hopes the prince would show up at one again. 

Jisung and Chenle had a bet on which one of them would win the next month’s dance so it wouldn’t be long until the people had their wish granted.

“One room does _not _need this many lights,” Renjun promptly announced as soon as they’d been shown into a chamber to wait for the royal family. Jisung eyed the chandelier hanging above the tens of candles on the table and the torches mounted on the walls and found himself quietly agreeing.

He plopped down on the futon, his fingers nervously fidgeting in his lap as he waited for someone to come receive them and take them to meet Chenle. Meanwhile, Ten and his friends wandered about the room, picking up and examining every object that fascinated them - which seemed to be everything from the decorative sculptures to the candleholders. From the corner of his eye, Jisung is sure he saw Ten wordlessly pick-up a small golden tumbler and slip it into his pocket. He sighed and pretended to look the other way. He will never understand how this is the man that made his brother’s knees turn weak. 

“I never knew pears could be this red,” Donghyuck picked up the fruit from a basket on the table near the door. He brought it up to his mouth taking a bite just as the door flew open and Chenle walked in surrounded by three boys dressed in matching velvet blazers with their hair combed back neatly. Jisung recognized them as being the figures that he’d seen next to Chenle during the coronation.

Donghyuck startled and choked causing one of the boys to walk over to him, brows furrowing in concern as he tentatively patted his friend’s back. “Ah. That’s- that’s wax. You probably shouldn’t have eaten that.” The boy reached for the jug of water, eyes narrowing at the lack of tumblers next to it but before he could offer the water, Donghyuck had coughed out the bite of the wax fruit onto the boy’s pristine clothes. The boy yelped, dropping the jug, which clattered against the floor, and a small pool of water leaked out to surround the two of them. Donghyuck watched the scene with horror.

Jisung buried his face into his hands. 

“Hey,” A familiar voice came from near him as the futon dipped down on his right indicating the weight of another person. 

Jisung felt his lips pull into a smile as he looked up to meet Chenle’s soft gaze. 

“Hi.”

They sat there smiling dumbly at each other before a dramatic cough from the other side of the room snapped them out of their bubble. Jisung looked up to glare at a very non-apologetic looking Renjun.

The other two unfamiliar boys also turned their head to look at Renjun, curiosity dancing in their eyes as they took in the way he was standing there with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

“Oh! I almost forgot introductions!” Chenle leapt up again, walking around to gesture in turn to each of the boys who had come in with him.

“This is Lord Lee Jeno and Sir Na Jaemin,” he nodded at the two boys who had been not so inconspicuously staring at Renjun moments ago. They both gave Jisung small smiles.

“And that’s just Mark - he’s sort of my cousin but not really,” Chenle motioned to the boy at the back who was still pre-occupied with Donghyuck. He was desperately trying to escape his grip as Donghyuck held him in place while muttering apologies, insistent on rubbing clean the blazer he’d spit on. Mark looked terrified of his friend and Jisung pitied him.

“And this is Renjun, Donghyuck, Ten and Jisung.” Chenle motioned to the rest of them as he introduced them to his friends and cousin-not-cousin. Jisung had talked to Chenle about his circle of friends so often that the prince had little difficulty identifying each of them.

Jaemin’s face split into a sly smile. “It’s nice to finally meet the famous Jisung. Honestly, we’ve heard so much about you. Chenle _never_ shuts up-“

“Okay! That’s enough!” Chenle cut in, his neck turning that tell-tale red shade of embarrassment. Jisung wondered what Chenle had said about him. Jaemin looked nice enough and his eyes sparkled with mischief in a way that suggested he’d tell Jisung at some point in the night even if he didn't ask.

Jisung knew Renjun. He hadn’t grown up with him and dealt with him for seventeen years to not know him inside out. So it was only expected when Renjun piped up from where he was standing to say, “That’s actually funny because Jisung never shuts up about Chenle either.” Jeno and Jaemin turned to him at that, looking delighted at the excuse to talk to Renjun while simultaneously also humiliating Jisung and Chenle.

It was now Jisung’s turn to be embarrassed and he quickly ushered them out before Renjun ruined his entire life.

Dinner passed as smoothly as it could have. Donghyuck poked at every meal he was served with suspicion before eating it, clearly scarred from the earlier incident; Mark sat as far away as possible from Donghyuck, also scarred; Renjun, Jaemin and Jeno were lost in heated conversation with each other at one end of the table; Taeyong desperately tried to damage control while Ten was the one causing most of the damage. And Jisung? Well, Jisung got absolutely _grilled _by the King and Queen while a very apologetic Chenle sat next to him, holding his hand in sympathy.

He tried his best to answer each question and although King Kun’s words were sharp, the way he looked at Jisung with a soft gaze was enough to let him know he was doing okay. That this was okay.

“So which season would you prefer for your wedding?” The queen asked from where she’d been sitting quietly. 

Jisung sputtered over his mouthful of water, his face flushing a deeper red than he thought was even possible. Chenle, equally red, hissed out a sharp _“Stop it, you’re scaring him,”_ to his parents before patting Jisung’s back in an attempt to soothe his coughing.

Jisung had never really thought much about his future. The way he led his life had just naturally left him to focus on the present – how was he going to get food _now_? How would he make up for the money they didn’t have _now_? How could he sneak away to Ten’s classes _now_? But since meeting Chenle, he’d been finding himself looking forward more and more to a tomorrow. To seeing the prince again tomorrow, and holding his hand and kissing his lips tomorrow. He hoped one day there would come a tomorrow where he could build a home together with Chenle. 

“Summer,” he replied quickly before he could second-guess himself. He focused on chewing the food in his mouth; ears aflame as he firmly avoided the wide-eyed look Chenle threw him. For once, the prince was at a loss for words.

After dinner, they’d all decided to walk through the palace gardens while musicians played for them in the background to create ambience. Renjun raised his eyebrows at the unnecessary extravagance and Jisung was sure his friend was going to make a scene. To his surprise he stayed calm, letting the two boys Chenle had introduced earlier guide him away while the three of them chattered in low voices. Jisung's even sure he heard Renjun giggle in that overly sweet and annoying way of his that he only ever did around people he liked. It made Jisung want to throw up.

Chenle pulled him to one side away from the group and Jisung was grateful for the time they finally had to talk alone. 

“Jisung, your brother…” Jisung waited for what Chenle was going to say. His brother what? “You never told me he was _hot_,” Chenle said, gawking not very subtly at Taeyong who was walking a couple of feet away from them.

Okay, that was _not_ what he had expected to hear. Jisung pulled back to stare at Chenle, clear betrayal in his eyes. Doyoung walked past with a serving platter, clearly having also heard Chenle and somehow looking even more betrayed than Jisung felt at that moment. The chef looked absolutely horrified at the mere idea that someone could think of Taeyong that way and so he snatched away the goblet of juice that Chenle was holding in retaliation before walking away. 

Chenle watched the retreating figure of his drink with a sorrowful gaze. “I wasn’t even done with that,” he whispered to himself.

Jisung turned to glare at his brother who was laughing at something Ten was saying, his cheeks pink and one hand coming up to shyly tuck a strand of red hair behind his ears. He was grateful Ten didn’t hear that too or that would be one more person judging Chenle for having said something so objectively true but also so controversial.

“Taeyong’s taken,” Jisung replied, forcing his pout away. 

And Taeyong was. At some point between Jisung and Chenle skirting around their feelings for each other and finally getting it together, Taeyong had gotten the courage to ask Ten out. Well, that was the story his brother had told him. Ten, on the other hand, had said that he’d walked in on his brother crying into a loaf of burnt bread, muttering to himself about how could never confess to Ten if he couldn’t even bake correctly and that he’d kissed Taeyong on the spot to put him out of his misery. That story sounded a lot more believable to Jisung.

Chenle looked up at him curiously, a playful smile dancing across his lips. “So am I, Jisung.” He brought one hand up to brush through Jisung’s hair before tracing his fingertips over his reddening ears and playing with them. “Are you jealous?”

“No.” He was. He definitely was.

“Good.” Chenle smiled up at him even though it was clear he didn’t believe a word Jisung was saying. “Because Taeyong might be hot,“ Jisung whined at that, making Chenle laugh. “But he’s not you.”

Jisung finally brought his eyes to lock with Chenle’s again, basking in the sincerity that shone through from the prince.

Chenle grinned as he brought his hand down from Jisung’s ears to slither around his neck and trail painfully slowly down his chest. His eyes ran all over Jisung and he practically devoured him with just his gaze as he whispered, “I think you’re hotter anyway.” 

Jisung felt a whole whirlwind of new emotions at hearing _that_. "Cute" he was used to. "Hot" made his body react in a whole different kind of way. His skin burned and blood rushed away from his head to _much _further south and Chenle looked far too smug, knowing just what effect his mere few words had had on Jisung.

He leaned down. It would just take one small tilt of his head and he’d be able to kiss the prince and _God_ did he want to. Chenle clearly had no objections to that from the way his eyes fluttered shut as he stepped forward to suggestively press their bodies close together. 

A pointed cough was thrown their way and Jisung startled, immediately pulling away when he noticed the owner of the cough was the king who was glaring with venom from not too far away. Jisung blanched and bowed in apology while Chenle just rolled his eyes before dragging him away from the group to somewhere his father couldn’t interrupt them. 

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the maze - the place where it had all begun. They trailed slowly, aimlessly meandering with no destination, simply trying to soak up the time they were spending together. Jisung let his thumb rub over the tattoo of the snakes on Chenle’s wrist. The prince had stopped trying to hide it after Jisung told him he thought the intricate black design looked breathtaking against his pale skin.

“There’s one thing I still don’t understand,” Jisung spoke as his fingers continued to trace along the ink on the prince's wrist.

“And what’s that?” Chenle hummed.

“If you can’t eat gluten who were all the cupcakes for?”

“Oh, I gave them to my friends. Why do you think they liked you so much?” Chenle grinned conspiratorially. “You’ve been buying their friendship with food without even realising it.”

Jisung stopped walking, brows furrowing in confusion. “So you ordered all those cupcakes for your _friends_?”

Chenle stopped too, taking his time to run his gaze over Jisung’s face and appreciate all that was his boyfriend. He brought his hand up to smooth over the frown-lines on Jisung’s forehead, giggling as he did so. 

The stars shone brightly over the scene of two boys from two completely worlds, fingers tangled together and linking their silhouettes as one as they stood, more lost in each other’s eyes than the maze that swallowed them. 

“No, stupid. I ordered them for the cute baker’s boy that came with them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We! Are! Done! ♥
> 
> I've grown so fond of this fic and it's going to feel really weird to not update it any more. Usually my writing is dream-centric but taeten just fit so naturally into this universe and I've grown super attached to their characters too. This fic is far from perfect but I've learnt A Lot writing it and so hopefully my next chenji fics will reflect on that (i've got so many chenji wips it's not even funny). 
> 
> Thank you!!! for reading !!!!!!! if you have time it would mean a lot if you could leave a comment to tell me your thoughts ♥  
(i now have a [twitter!!](https://twitter.com/chenjistar) )


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